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 | 131 | 44 | 160 |
| Control - steering | 117 | 46 | 640 |
| Junctions - observation | 102 | 21 | 224 |
| Response to signs - road markings | 78 | 2 | 83 |
| Response to signs - traffic lights | 69 | 2 | 117 |
| Move off - safely | 48 | 9 | 225 |
| Positioning - lane discipline | 45 | 8 | 129 |
| Junctions - turning right | 42 | 1 | 141 |
| Clearance / obstructions | 39 | 25 | 209 |
| Judgement - crossing | 34 | 11 | 28 |
| Move off - control | 33 | 11 | 258 |
| Pedestrian crossing | 33 | 4 | 80 |
| Response to signs - traffic signs | 33 | 0 | 20 |
| Maintain progress - undue hesitation | 28 | 1 | 460 |
| Reverse park - Control | 27 | 5 | 154 |
| Awareness/planning | 26 | 8 | 235 |
| Taxi/Forward Park cont | 25 | 6 | 238 |
| Use of speed | 24 | 0 | 139 |
| Reverse park - Observatons | 21 | 3 | 97 |
| Positioning - normal driving | 20 | 1 | 178 |
| Judgement - meeting | 19 | 23 | 147 |
| Taxi/Forward Park obs | 18 | 2 | 56 |
| Maintain progess - speed | 17 | 0 | 352 |
| Reverse right - Observation | 14 | 0 | 70 |
| Control - gears | 12 | 2 | 103 |
| Mirrors - change speed | 10 | 0 | 157 |
| Signals - correctly | 10 | 0 | 139 |
| Following distance | 8 | 2 | 108 |
| Reverse right - Control | 7 | 0 | 54 |
| Junctions - approach speed | 5 | 1 | 88 |
| Junctions - turning left | 5 | 0 | 25 |
| Response to signs - other road users | 4 | 3 | 41 |
| Vehicle checks | 4 | 2 | 157 |
| Control - Footbrake | 4 | 0 | 60 |
| Judgement - overtaking | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| Junctions - cutting corners | 3 | 0 | 38 |
| Position - normal stops | 3 | 0 | 201 |
| Signals - necessary | 3 | 0 | 115 |
| Eyesight | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ancillary controls | 0 | 1 | 29 |
| Control - accelerator | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Control - balance | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Control - clutch | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| Control - parking brake | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Control Stop - Promptness | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Controlled stop - Control | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ECO Driving | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Highway Code | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mirrors - signalling | 0 | 0 | 66 |
| Precautions | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Response to signs - traffic controllers | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Reverse left - Control | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reverse left - Observation | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Signals - timed | 0 | 0 | 99 |
| 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.