DVLA reveals the 1 error that causes the most people to fail their driving test

The DVLA has revealed the most popular mistake causing thousands of people to fail their driving test in the UK. According to official data, ‘observations at junctions’ are the biggest culprit, with a staggering 768,881 drivers failing their test on this simple issue over the past five years.

This means the common problem accounts for 11.81% of total failures, a major blow to learner drivers. Errors while using car motors to change direction were next, with 598,417 (9.19%) of learner drivers failing over this simple issue. Failure to move away safely came next, with 328,483 (5.05%) road users affected in the last half a decade.

The data was acquired by online driving instructor marketplace EzLicence who analysed DVLA data through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.

Joe Parry, spokesperson at EZLicence stressed road users can overcome common problems by remembering to practice regularly ahead of their tests.

He explained: “Checking mirrors regularly, maintaining a healthy speed, and proper control of the vehicle are all habits that are easy to adopt, so do it.

“Our instructors are constantly trying to embed these healthy habits into their learners, making safe driving more seamless and helping to avoid minor or major faults.

“Overall, drivers can still pass their test with up to 15 minor mistakes, so if you make an error, try not to let it distract you from the rest of the test. Through regular practice and maintaining safe driving habits, learner drivers can pass their test with minimal faults.”

Failing to properly observe junctions will usually affect how candidates judge their reactions when turning onto a new road.

Leaving the right gap between vehicles before accelerating away and checking both ways thoroughly will ensure motorists are not caught out.

Drivers should also ensure they follow the trusty ‘mirror-signal-manoeuvre’ routine before pressing down on the accelerator.

The data shows that younger drivers struggle with observation at junctions compared to those taking a test later in life.

Learner drivers aged 16-39 collectively made 698,112 errors concerning junction observation, meaning road users between these ages were responsible for 91% of these particular faults.

Joe added: “Our instructors advise learners to target challenging manoeuvres such as parallel parking and pulling over on the right, helping them avoid faults and potential fails on test day.”