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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junctions - observation | 251 | 37 | 381 |
| Mirrors - change direction | 217 | 33 | 296 |
| Positioning - normal driving | 143 | 2 | 396 |
| Maintain progess - speed | 126 | 0 | 924 |
| Control - steering | 120 | 16 | 686 |
| Maintain progress - undue hesitation | 112 | 0 | 757 |
| Response to signs - traffic lights | 106 | 3 | 92 |
| Move off - control | 105 | 2 | 515 |
| Response to signs - road markings | 104 | 5 | 87 |
| Use of speed | 104 | 0 | 403 |
| Response to signs - traffic signs | 102 | 1 | 98 |
| Move off - safely | 94 | 0 | 568 |
| Junctions - turning right | 87 | 0 | 163 |
| Reverse park - Control | 81 | 5 | 340 |
| Awareness/planning | 59 | 2 | 269 |
| Clearance / obstructions | 55 | 13 | 323 |
| Control - gears | 54 | 2 | 431 |
| Judgement - meeting | 48 | 7 | 130 |
| Positioning - lane discipline | 38 | 2 | 107 |
| Mirrors - change speed | 37 | 2 | 235 |
| Judgement - crossing | 34 | 6 | 31 |
| Junctions - approach speed | 34 | 1 | 297 |
| Reverse park - Observatons | 31 | 0 | 120 |
| Signals - correctly | 27 | 0 | 376 |
| Following distance | 25 | 0 | 147 |
| Reverse right - Observation | 23 | 0 | 74 |
| Response to signs - other road users | 21 | 1 | 89 |
| Reverse right - Control | 19 | 0 | 50 |
| Pedestrian crossing | 18 | 3 | 29 |
| Position - normal stops | 16 | 0 | 135 |
| Vehicle checks | 15 | 1 | 341 |
| Signals - necessary | 14 | 0 | 178 |
| Junctions - turning left | 13 | 0 | 25 |
| Junctions - cutting corners | 8 | 0 | 24 |
| Taxi/Forward Park cont | 7 | 0 | 71 |
| Judgement - overtaking | 5 | 0 | 9 |
| Mirrors - signalling | 5 | 0 | 311 |
| Signals - timed | 5 | 0 | 205 |
| Taxi/Forward Park obs | 5 | 0 | 19 |
| Control - parking brake | 4 | 0 | 56 |
| Control - Footbrake | 3 | 1 | 124 |
| Ancillary controls | 3 | 0 | 24 |
| Control - clutch | 2 | 0 | 79 |
| Control Stop - Promptness | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Precautions | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Control - accelerator | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Control - balance | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Controlled stop - Control | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ECO Driving | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eyesight | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Highway Code | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Response to signs - traffic controllers | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 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.