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 | 144 | 19 | 274 |
| Mirrors - change direction | 113 | 14 | 183 |
| Response to signs - road markings | 109 | 3 | 79 |
| Response to signs - traffic lights | 92 | 4 | 58 |
| Positioning - normal driving | 77 | 1 | 388 |
| Control - steering | 69 | 6 | 496 |
| Judgement - meeting | 65 | 4 | 231 |
| Use of speed | 58 | 1 | 278 |
| Awareness/planning | 57 | 0 | 289 |
| Move off - safely | 54 | 1 | 454 |
| Reverse park - Control | 50 | 0 | 250 |
| Move off - control | 49 | 1 | 368 |
| Clearance / obstructions | 44 | 2 | 378 |
| Junctions - turning right | 38 | 3 | 50 |
| Signals - correctly | 34 | 0 | 208 |
| Maintain progess - speed | 29 | 1 | 503 |
| Mirrors - change speed | 29 | 1 | 153 |
| Reverse park - Observatons | 25 | 0 | 113 |
| Reverse right - Observation | 24 | 0 | 46 |
| Positioning - lane discipline | 22 | 0 | 96 |
| Control - gears | 21 | 0 | 182 |
| Reverse right - Control | 21 | 0 | 39 |
| Pedestrian crossing | 20 | 4 | 23 |
| Response to signs - traffic signs | 18 | 1 | 51 |
| Maintain progress - undue hesitation | 18 | 0 | 580 |
| Junctions - approach speed | 17 | 1 | 157 |
| Judgement - crossing | 15 | 1 | 10 |
| Following distance | 15 | 0 | 161 |
| Position - normal stops | 14 | 0 | 117 |
| Taxi/Forward Park cont | 9 | 0 | 90 |
| Vehicle checks | 8 | 2 | 120 |
| Signals - necessary | 8 | 0 | 177 |
| Response to signs - other road users | 6 | 1 | 31 |
| Junctions - cutting corners | 6 | 0 | 28 |
| Taxi/Forward Park obs | 6 | 0 | 23 |
| Judgement - overtaking | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| Mirrors - signalling | 5 | 0 | 454 |
| Junctions - turning left | 4 | 0 | 11 |
| Control - parking brake | 3 | 0 | 17 |
| Control Stop - Promptness | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Signals - timed | 3 | 0 | 128 |
| Ancillary controls | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Control - accelerator | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Control - Footbrake | 1 | 0 | 37 |
| Eyesight | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Control - balance | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Control - clutch | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| Controlled stop - Control | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ECO Driving | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Highway Code | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Precautions | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 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.