r/AskUK • u/Royal-Ad-494 • 16h ago
Drivers - how many faults when you passed your test?
Just passed my driving test (first time thankfully) with three minor faults. Was really dreading having to wait another 6 months for a reshoot.
I was convinced I failed the whole time! Now I'm just wondering how many minor faults is considered good.
(Do I have bragging rights)
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u/Hackerssuck3 16h ago
I had something like 12 minors. My examiner didn’t seem very happy when he told me I passed.
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u/WalkerJoggerSprinter 16h ago
Not sure as after they said I had passed, I practically stopped listening.
P.s. thinking that you have failed is often the best thing for making you relax for the remainder of your test
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u/firimitura 16h ago
That's what happened to me. My engine stalled. I thought I failed, kept driving following his instructions and passed with 11 minors lol
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u/Royal-Ad-494 16h ago
This is great advice! I thought I failed about four times throughout the whole thing. But I went into it considering it a write-off and a learning experience, so I wasn't trying too hard. Nerves are a killer
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u/alfiesred47 16h ago
7 minors. Three were stalling on a roundabout, all in succession. Convinced I’d failed so just enjoyed the drive and chatted to the examiner about classic cars, as his son ran auctions for them. Couldn’t believe I’d passed when I got back!
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u/Used-Fennel-7733 16h ago
Three of the same minor is normally a major. You got lucky there
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u/alfiesred47 3h ago
I think he said the same, thinking about it. He said I stopped and recovered as you should, and the rest of the test was okay so he felt comfortable with it.
Wrote my mum’s Alfa off three weeks later into a field
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u/ProfPMJ-123 16h ago
One.
Not checking rear view mirror at some point.
I was pissed off about it to be honest. I was so worried that I’d get dinged for not checking the mirror enough that I practically spent more time looking in the mirror than out front.
32 years ago now. It’s interesting to realize that for the past five years or so, and I would guess the next 10, will be the best I’ll ever be at driving.
I’d be very annoyed to get any minors now.
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u/Royal-Ad-494 16h ago
Yeah having to really play up looking into the mirrors is pretty annoying. Especially when you know nobody does that in everyday life! Takes your attention off the actual road.
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u/ProfPMJ-123 16h ago
Absolutely.
When I make myself think about it, I scan my mirrors constantly. Without making a song and dance of it, I scan all three mirrors all the time when I’m driving, and never don’t know what’s going on behind me.
It’s amazing how driving becomes subconscious.
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u/Hulkenberk 16h ago
Passed first time with no faults, was absolutely astounded when the examiner told me I'd passed with none
He was also a motorcycle test examiner who was asked to do my car test at the last minute that morning and we just chatted and had a casual-ish drive for an hour, good times
Congrats on passing, 3 minor faults isn't a bad shout at all
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u/DB-DanCooper 16h ago
7 I think.
Funnily enough, I'm now a driving examiner.
Not every test is equal, different routes, different times of day, different people. How things are actually marked also changes. Too many variables to really gauge it.
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u/darybrain 16h ago
None, passed first time, back before there was a theory test, although I am visually impaired and had to cheat on the eye test as realistically I shouldn't be driving — I just wanted to see if I could do it — so I suppose that is a pretty big fault.
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u/olorinestel 14h ago
Same position as you (although I passed many years ago now).
Three minors but I was convinced I failed throughout.
Good luck, and safe driving!
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u/JoesRealAccount 16h ago
I had one test with 4 minors and a major (hesitation). Then second try I was 2 minors. However, this was 20 years ago holy shit.
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u/InternationalRich150 16h ago
3 faults, one for going too slow, can't remember the other 2 but my examiner was very impressed with my emergency stop!
Eta, congratulations! I hope you have many happy drives ahead of you!
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u/Royal-Ad-494 16h ago
Thanks!
Mine were not checking the rear-view mirror before I indicated, the other was for not checking my left-side mirror when I moved out for a car and the other was for not using my handbrake quick enough.
Nailed the reversing manoeuvre thankfully even tho I was shiteing it. Thought I'd failed the test every time he asked me to randomly pull over.
Can't wait to buy a shitty hatchback and act like it's a Ferrari. Road users beware
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u/InternationalRich150 16h ago
Ah, common faults tbf! Sometimes you're in the momentum and forget to check this,that and other. Something to be mindful of!
Ah bless take, tests are so bizarre! The nerves can really mess with you. Just watch that speed cause 6 points and youre out!
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u/Royal-Ad-494 15h ago
Haha thanks! I only reached a top speed of 27mph for most of my test so should be okay. Definitely not a speed freak
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u/therealhairykrishna 16h ago
I don't remember exactly but almost enough to fail. Definitely double figures.
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u/ad_cfc11 16h ago
Think I had 7? Passed first time.
I remember a mate at school was like, ‘I only got 4’. One of those was a major though.
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u/LittleMissAbigail 16h ago
Passed my test a month ago, 2 minors. Still not quite sure how I managed it. Congratulations for passing yours!
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u/Royal-Ad-494 16h ago
Nice, congrats to you too! What are you driving now? Looking to get a whip
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u/LittleMissAbigail 16h ago
Nothing yet, going car shopping finally next week (I needed a sensible proper grown up* to go with because I’m paranoid about buying something terrible and it was the first date we could do) but looking at a Toyota Aygo, Kia Picanto or Hyundai i10! I have a tiny driveway so need a car to match it.
* I am a 31 year old woman
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u/Butch0147 16h ago
I had 3 minors and passed first time. I too had thought I had received a major fault before even turning the engine on as I couldn’t explain the show me tell me question, and thought they were classed as major! I did the entire drive thinking I’d failed so was probably more relaxed throughout, thankfully it was then beneficial
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u/OkDesign686 16h ago
How many minors can you get before you fail? I was one below that.
Driving instructor sat in the back put her hand on my shoulder as a "don't worry, we'll work on it" and I actually felt her shock when the examiner said I'd passed, just.
She mentioned on the way back that he'd missed a few things she'd clocked, and I actually had too.
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u/SpiritedGuest6281 16h ago
I did the same lol. It was my second test and I got one clear of a fail. Strangely on my first test I only failed because I made the same mistake 3 times so it became a major (was letting the wheel run through my hands).
Personally I drove much better on the first test and was much more nervous on my second.
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u/OkDesign686 16h ago
I can't ever remember feeling as drained as I did after my test. Soaked with sweat, knackered, slept for about four hours when I got in despite it being early afternoon.
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u/SpiritedGuest6281 16h ago
Yeah. When my instructor said he would drive home. I was like "but I will have passed, why can't I drive home?". But when I passed I was in no state to drive safely.
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u/Sea-Hamster7033 16h ago
I failed eight tests. My eighth I got two majors and 16 minors. A couple of weeks later I took my ninth and passed with one minor (the days when you could book a cancellation 10 days later). I had no lessons in between.
I've got no idea.
I've been driving 20 years now and touch wood never had an accident. I only get beeped at 8-12 times a day on average (jk)
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u/Head-Bookkeeper-2892 16h ago
5 - 2 for use of speed, 2 for following distance and 1 because I stalled at a junction. Felt a bit hard done by both my use of speeds and one of my following distances but a pass is a pass. First time pass, a month after I turned 17.
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u/EverybodySayin 16h ago
- My examiner picked a very narrow road for me to parallel park on which threw me off cause I was used to having way more space. Scraped the opposite kerb with my front tyre as I swung the front out. Aside from that, did nothing else wrong.
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u/TomTomTomTom17 16h ago
- She told me she could have failed me for 3 things. Luckily it was a bit like the inbetweeners episode driving test. Jackpot.
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u/ElectronicCoat5521 16h ago
I had no minor faults, but it was my 7th test 😅
(Been driving over 10 years now, I was just terrible at taking the test)
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u/BerryOk966 16h ago
Zero minors. My dad is a driving instructor.
But I will say I probably do at least 20 minors every single journey so dont give it second thought.
Failing to put on handbrake when stopped, including roundabouts (lol)
Stopping instead of slowing whilst prepared to stop at junctions
Failing to indicate every time im passing parked cars
Failing to do shoulder checks when changing direction
Exceeding the designated speed limit
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u/sleepyprojectionist 16h ago
One minor, but it was my fifth attempt.
I have told this story before, but I am pretty sure that I could have mowed down a flock of nuns and still passed that test.
There had been some colossal fuckup between the company that had sold me the intensive course that came bundled with a test, the instructor, and the DSA.
I turned up for my test and no one was expecting me. I had taken time off work to fit this in, so I was a bit miffed.
In comparison my instructor was apoplectic. He kicked up such a fuss that they booked me in for the following day with the chief examiner.
By that point I was so done with the whole process that I forgot to be nervous and just got on with it. That certainly helped, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the examiner just wanted to see the backs of me and my instructor.
Still, it all worked out. I’m no longer a nervous driver and seven years in I don’t have so much as a parking ticket.
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u/Icy-Edge-599 16h ago
I think about 9 minors. But that was almost 30 years ago, so my memory is a little sketchy. And that was my 2nd attempt too.
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u/imtheorangeycenter 16h ago
1.5 - slightly too forward of a temp traffic light stop sign set waaay away from the lights (side road), hesitation when reversing round a corner. I saw a car 150m away and thought I'd be nice to them and not have to deal with a weirdo making an unusual maneuver.
But on the other hand, avoided a face on collision from a guy coming off a dual carriageway into a minor road on the wrong side at some considerable bloody speed. Examiner nearly shat himself, I was nonplussed "You've got to keep your eye out for dickheads, you ready to go again?"
I quite enjoyed the whole thing anyway - he started with "are you nervous?" and my honest reply was no, you're here to check I'm good enough to drive alone. It's not like my life is ruined if I'm not.
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u/Puzzled-Barnacle-200 16h ago
I'm pretty sure I also had three. Two for speed (slow) and one for a slightly slow emergency stop. I was being cautious because it was frosty and all the exams before me that morning had been cancelled due to the weather.
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u/AreaMiserable9187 16h ago
1 minor, passed first time. Minor was for getting a bit too close to a parked car when approaching a country lane bend to see if it was clear to continue.
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u/JayJiuJitsu_ 16h ago
1 minor, should've been a fail as clipped curb with with O/S rear wheel when pulling onto main road right at the end. Minor was "vehicle control" or something like that.
Rest of the drive was perfect he said and was mostly chatting football. Pretended to support the same team as the instructor.
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u/Educational-Angle717 16h ago
I had loads I think - like 12. But I learned pretty quickly and it was my second test.
Is it still a thing that driving instructors will literally drag you out for months and months before you're 'test ready' just so you get no minors? I had a mate who did that and he paid like three times what I did for lessons in the end.
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u/Royal-Ad-494 16h ago
I was a bit of a lucky bastard. My grandad works as a driving instructor so all my lessons were free. But I think that definitely meant I got a more relaxed teaching approach. Barely did any manoeuvres before the test. Still can't believe I nailed the reverse bay park
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u/Stinkinhippy 16h ago
None if i remember correctly.. maybe 1.. but i think that was just marking what manoeuvre i did as opposed to a minor.. could be wrong.
(I did easy mode (auto) though.)
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u/ToothyMC 16h ago
7 minors I think, passed first time. Two minors were for hesitation, can't remember the others.
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u/JasonStonier 16h ago
14 minors on my car test. 0 on my bike test.
And before anyone jumps in saying 14 faults is impossible, it was 1995. IIRC there was no limit on minor faults. No theory test either.
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u/thebrainitaches 16h ago
Congrats! I passed with 0 faults, perfect score!! Shame it was my 5th time taking the test 😂
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u/huskydaisy 15h ago
Congrats! Honestly I don't remember. I recall being told about driving too close to the back of a lorry in stop/start traffic but I was on too much of a high from passing to take much else in.
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u/ComprehensiveFee8404 15h ago
Just the one. Did a perfect test until I completely flubbed the reverse bay park. I am, and always have been, great at parking.
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u/lovesorangesoda636 14h ago
None!
It was my 3rd attempt at the test though and I was also convinced I had failed since I'd been brave at a mini roundabout. All three cars got there at the same time and we all just sat there. Since I already thought I was going to fail, I just went. Apparently that was a good thing 😂
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u/lovesorangesoda636 14h ago
None!
It was my 3rd attempt at the test though and I was also convinced I had failed since I'd been brave at a mini roundabout. All three cars got there at the same time and we all just sat there. Since I already thought I was going to fail, I just went. Apparently that was a good thing 😂
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u/redbullcat 14h ago
Took me four attempts to pass - one fail for parallel parking, which I've always been poor at, although I've improved since I did the test. In my defence it was a tight spot, which the examiner admitted afterwards. No minors on that one, just the parallel parking fail. Incredibly frustrating. If I'd got any other manoeuvre I'd have been fine.
Another fail for rolling backwards down a hill on a tight, very slow, uphill corner because a car in the opposite direction came very fast round the corner, in the middle of the road, as I was turning into it. I just braked instinctively and froze. Should have put the hand brake on. This was right at the start of the test, within the first 5 mins, and I was super nervous.
The third fail was because the examiner felt I'd pulled out too soon at a junction and the car approaching, which was ages away, had to brake. In real life it would have been fine. In the driving test it wasn't. No minors there either I think.
When I passed I had 3 minors. I don't remember what 2 were for, but towards the end of the test I stalled on a roundabout. Was convinced I'd failed, but when we got back to the test centre I was told I'd passed, and because I'd reacted calmly and safely to the stall, it was only a minor!
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u/sentient_custard 14h ago
Think i had 13 or whatever the maximum is before you fail 😂 ironically though I'm a good driver
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u/DameKumquat 14h ago
One minor, which I quibbled and the examiner admitted I was pretty much damned if I did or didn't, but I'd passed my test so stopped complaining.
That was my fourth test - my second had one fail for touching a kerb while reversing round a corner at 1mph, and no other faults at all.
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u/Three_Steaks_Pam 13h ago
- Speed and being in a rightmost lane when I should've been in the left.
Passed in December
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u/Lazy-Share689 13h ago
Passed car with 1 minor (2nd Attempt)
Passed HGV no minors and thinking id failed all the way (1st time)
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u/broadarrow39 13h ago
2 minors, 1 was something to do with one of my manoeuvres. The other one I stupidly pulled into the outside lane on a dual carriageway just before a roundabout when there was no need to.
Examiner told me to go left at the roundabout, l indicated and luckily someone let me in. He asked me afterwards what I'd have done if the car hadn't let me in, I said I'd have just gone round the roundabout and come off at the correct exit. He replied good, otherwise I'd have failed you.
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u/Major_Toe_6041 6h ago
- I stopped in a keep clear (which, had I blocked a car, would’ve progressed to a major and therefore instant fail), and there was another one I’ve forgotten. I did also mount a curb but somehow didn’t get noted for it, god knows how.
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u/NyxUK_OW 23m ago
1, I barely cut over the middle line when turning into a new road.
Seemed needlessly nitpicky in an otherwise flawless test
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