Choose a test centre to explore recorded fault categories. These counts can help structure a conversation about observation, control and planning alongside your own lesson feedback.
A single test can record several faults, including more than one type. Counts are not numbers of failed tests or your chance of committing a fault. The attachment does not supply matching test denominators for a fault-rate calculation.
We use explicitly labelled January and February 2026 rows in DVSA’s July 2026 response. Later and unlabelled repeated blocks are excluded. A centre may have only one of these months; missing observations are not zero.
Use the figures alongside feedback from a qualified instructor. A recorded category does not identify a test route, exact junction or guaranteed manoeuvre. Historical category names are retained, including legacy labels.
313 unambiguously matched statistical centres. The source contains 314 named centre records; unmatched names remain in the downloadable data.
Sorted by serious-fault count, then dangerous-fault count. The driving-fault column is a separate severity category.
| Published fault category | Serious | Dangerous | Driving faults |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mirrors - change direction | 211 | 30 | 601 |
| Junctions - observation | 162 | 34 | 537 |
| Move off - safely | 115 | 7 | 970 |
| Move off - control | 103 | 3 | 954 |
| Positioning - normal driving | 95 | 5 | 608 |
| Positioning - lane discipline | 90 | 19 | 386 |
| Response to signs - traffic lights | 89 | 2 | 118 |
| Response to signs - traffic signs | 70 | 1 | 78 |
| Control - steering | 69 | 10 | 685 |
| Use of speed | 65 | 1 | 385 |
| Reverse park - Control | 64 | 3 | 442 |
| Maintain progess - speed | 58 | 1 | 696 |
| Junctions - turning right | 46 | 0 | 121 |
| Reverse park - Observatons | 38 | 0 | 197 |
| Response to signs - road markings | 36 | 1 | 117 |
| Judgement - meeting | 35 | 3 | 128 |
| Maintain progress - undue hesitation | 31 | 0 | 430 |
| Mirrors - change speed | 30 | 0 | 440 |
| Position - normal stops | 30 | 0 | 285 |
| Reverse right - Observation | 30 | 0 | 86 |
| Pedestrian crossing | 25 | 5 | 37 |
| Clearance / obstructions | 18 | 9 | 156 |
| Judgement - overtaking | 18 | 1 | 32 |
| Control - gears | 18 | 0 | 301 |
| Awareness/planning | 17 | 5 | 203 |
| Response to signs - other road users | 15 | 5 | 67 |
| Following distance | 14 | 2 | 289 |
| Reverse right - Control | 13 | 0 | 75 |
| Taxi/Forward Park cont | 10 | 2 | 157 |
| Vehicle checks | 10 | 0 | 183 |
| Taxi/Forward Park obs | 9 | 0 | 76 |
| Judgement - crossing | 8 | 2 | 15 |
| Junctions - approach speed | 8 | 2 | 166 |
| Signals - correctly | 8 | 0 | 396 |
| Control - Footbrake | 4 | 1 | 143 |
| Control - parking brake | 4 | 0 | 87 |
| Junctions - cutting corners | 4 | 0 | 44 |
| Signals - necessary | 4 | 0 | 243 |
| Mirrors - signalling | 3 | 0 | 436 |
| Signals - timed | 3 | 0 | 243 |
| Eyesight | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Junctions - turning left | 2 | 0 | 34 |
| Ancillary controls | 1 | 1 | 15 |
| Control - accelerator | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| Control Stop - Promptness | 1 | 0 | 21 |
| Response to signs - traffic controllers | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Control - balance | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Control - clutch | 0 | 0 | 95 |
| Controlled stop - Control | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ECO Driving | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Highway Code | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Precautions | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Reverse left - Control | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reverse left - Observation | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turn in road - Control | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turn in road - Observations | 0 | 0 | 0 |
DVSA FOI response 2606-112694 and Annex H, published 1 July 2026. Our download preserves the source categories, per-month counts, original-file checksum and exclusions. Crown copyright information is reused under the default Open Government Licence; no individual test or candidate records are included.