I Failed My Driving Test for No Reason

Failing the driving test is bad enough, but when you’ve deservedly failed due to a mistake you’ve made, you take it on the chin and start planning for your next test. It’s when you believe that you’ve failed for no reason is when the bitterness sets in.

There’s often a lack of communication between the examiner and the test candidate both during the driving test and also back at the test centre when your test has concluded.

Examiners can be a little quick to mark the ‘failed’ box, otherwise known as the serious or dangerous fault box without fully understanding the action of the test candidate and why they did what they did.

Communicate with the Examiner

During the driving test, certain faults are going to result in a fail no matter what, while others can be borderline minor or serious. The difference between a minor and serious fault can be communication with the examiner.

The last thing that you want as a test candidate is to make a mistake and for the examiner to think that you’re completely oblivious to it. You might be sitting there thinking that you just messed up, but if I keep quiet the examiner may not have noticed. The examiner did notice! They do on occasions miss things, but when it comes to mistakes, they always seem to notice. Let the examiner know that you are aware of the mistake you just made and that you’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Another area of communication is to do with control. Examiners judge you based on your actions, but they don’t know what you’re thinking, unless you tell them.

If you’re doing something that you may suspect the examiner may have issue with, explain your actions to them. For example, if you’re passing parked car and need to get a little closer to the parked cars than normal, explain to the examiner why your’re doing so. If you’re driving a little slower than what the speed limit is, explain why to the examiner. If you need to overtake a cyclist but decide to hold back, explain why to the examiner.

The point being, is that the examiner then knows you have control of the situation rather than driving along not really knowing what to do.

Using the above advice may help a little in determining whether you pass or fail a driving test. Communicating with the examiner helps them to understand your actions and lets them know you acknowledge any mistakes you’ve made.

If you do fail, it’s highly unlikely to be for no reason and the actual reason is likely to be a mistake you made that you were completely unaware of.

Having said that, examiners do make mistakes, so it’s often best to take your instructor with you in case you decide to contest the test result. If you genuinely believe that your driving test was failed for no reason and your instructor agrees, you can submit a complaint to the DVSA. The result of your test will not be overturned but if you win, you’ll receive a free driving test.