Almost 60,000 learners fail their driving test each year before they have even left the test centre. Thousands prang their motors in the car park or fail to do basic manoeuvres.
Figures from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency show 43,931 learners came a cropper for not moving off safely in the nine months to March this year. That is an average of 4,881 every month – and almost 60,000 a year.
Moving off safely involves checking for other vehicles and pedestrians, using the mirrors and indicators, driving at the right speed in the right gear – and not hitting another vehicle.
Around 500 people a year also fail before they even get in the car because they are unable to read a number plate from 20 metres away.
Nicholas Shaw, from insurer Dayinsure, which obtained the data via a Freedom of Information request, said: “Many learners make mistakes quickly because their nerves get the better of them.”
Some 43% of the one million tests that took place in the UK from last July to March resulted in failure. The DVSA said the most common fault made by learner drivers is not negotiating a junction correctly.
