Turn evidence into useful practice

Look at the skills behind the faults.

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.

Understand the count

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.

Keep the dates visible

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.

Practise the full syllabus

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.

Reset

313 unambiguously matched statistical centres. The source contains 314 named centre records; unmatched names remain in the downloadable data.

Preston: January 2026 and February 2026

Sorted by serious-fault count, then dangerous-fault count. The driving-fault column is a separate severity category.

Published fault categorySeriousDangerousDriving faults
Response to signs - traffic lights1310172
Mirrors - change direction10919274
Junctions - observation10811265
Response to signs - road markings86297
Junctions - turning right672111
Judgement - crossing50257
Reverse park - Control451227
Positioning - normal driving420218
Response to signs - traffic signs39253
Control - steering383324
Move off - safely342550
Clearance / obstructions292205
Judgement - meeting260121
Maintain progress - undue hesitation191401
Move off - control190361
Awareness/planning150151
Reverse park - Observatons14090
Mirrors - change speed110212
Reverse right - Observation11054
Signals - correctly110164
Maintain progess - speed100585
Pedestrian crossing938
Signals - necessary80189
Use of speed80207
Vehicle checks80184
Following distance7093
Response to signs - other road users70156
Reverse right - Control7042
Junctions - cutting corners5032
Taxi/Forward Park cont50138
Control - gears41151
Eyesight400
Judgement - overtaking4011
Junctions - approach speed40124
Mirrors - signalling40253
Control - Footbrake3076
Control Stop - Promptness3021
Position - normal stops30168
Signals - timed20206
Control - clutch1063
Junctions - turning left1039
Positioning - lane discipline1049
Ancillary controls006
Control - accelerator008
Control - balance000
Control - parking brake0026
Controlled stop - Control000
ECO Driving000
Highway Code000
Precautions000
Response to signs - traffic controllers000
Reverse left - Control000
Reverse left - Observation000
Taxi/Forward Park obs0039
Turn in road - Control000
Turn in road - Observations000

Source and reproducible data

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.