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 | 119 | 14 | 237 |
| Mirrors - change direction | 67 | 12 | 125 |
| Response to signs - road markings | 65 | 4 | 145 |
| Response to signs - traffic signs | 50 | 6 | 73 |
| Control - steering | 40 | 8 | 475 |
| Move off - control | 40 | 2 | 314 |
| Response to signs - traffic lights | 32 | 6 | 69 |
| Maintain progess - speed | 26 | 0 | 266 |
| Clearance / obstructions | 25 | 2 | 210 |
| Judgement - meeting | 21 | 4 | 119 |
| Move off - safely | 19 | 4 | 395 |
| Positioning - normal driving | 19 | 3 | 157 |
| Control - gears | 19 | 2 | 151 |
| Junctions - turning right | 18 | 1 | 59 |
| Maintain progress - undue hesitation | 16 | 0 | 230 |
| Reverse park - Control | 15 | 0 | 192 |
| Reverse park - Observatons | 14 | 0 | 112 |
| Use of speed | 13 | 0 | 170 |
| Mirrors - change speed | 9 | 1 | 109 |
| Judgement - crossing | 8 | 1 | 14 |
| Following distance | 8 | 0 | 90 |
| Mirrors - signalling | 8 | 0 | 378 |
| Pedestrian crossing | 7 | 0 | 15 |
| Reverse right - Observation | 7 | 0 | 72 |
| Awareness/planning | 6 | 0 | 107 |
| Reverse right - Control | 6 | 0 | 29 |
| Control - Footbrake | 5 | 0 | 159 |
| Junctions - approach speed | 5 | 0 | 96 |
| Junctions - cutting corners | 5 | 0 | 28 |
| Taxi/Forward Park obs | 5 | 0 | 30 |
| Judgement - overtaking | 4 | 1 | 20 |
| Signals - correctly | 4 | 0 | 90 |
| Signals - necessary | 4 | 0 | 82 |
| Taxi/Forward Park cont | 3 | 2 | 67 |
| Position - normal stops | 3 | 0 | 67 |
| Response to signs - other road users | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Signals - timed | 3 | 0 | 113 |
| Junctions - turning left | 2 | 0 | 15 |
| Vehicle checks | 2 | 0 | 69 |
| Positioning - lane discipline | 1 | 5 | 27 |
| Control - parking brake | 1 | 0 | 15 |
| Control Stop - Promptness | 1 | 0 | 19 |
| Eyesight | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ancillary controls | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Control - accelerator | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Control - balance | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Control - clutch | 0 | 0 | 33 |
| Controlled stop - Control | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ECO Driving | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Highway Code | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Precautions | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Response to signs - traffic controllers | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 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.