6. Not having proper control of the steering

What you must be able to do

You must be able to steer the car as smoothly as possible.

You must steer at the appropriate time, as steering too early or late can cause the car to hit the kerb or swing out towards another road user.

Any mistakes you make in this area will be counted under the ‘Control - Steering’ fault on your driving test result.

These are some examples of mistakes that would count towards this fault.

Repeatedly not steering enough or steering late on the approach to junctions when turning left

Throughout the test, when you turn left, you repeatedly understeer, not following the shape of the kerb. This means there’s not enough space for vehicles turning right to fit alongside your car.

Not steering enough when going around a bend

When you drive around a bend at an appropriate speed, you do not apply enough steering. This causes both passenger-side wheels to mount the pavement.

Steering late when turning right into a minor road

When you turn right into a minor road, you steer late and not enough. This causes a ‘swan neck’ effect, and you drive fully onto the wrong side of the new road to correct your position.

Repeatedly mounting the pavement when pulling up on the left

Throughout the test, when you pull up on the left-hand side of the road, you mount the pavement with both passenger-side wheels before the car returns to the road.

Steering late when moving out to pass parked vehicles

When you approach parked vehicles, you steer late and get too close to the parked vehicles.

Driving safety facts

Drivers or riders overshooting junctions or making poor turns or manoeuvres was a factor in 1 in 8 reported collisions in Great Britain in 2023.

Source: Factors contributing to collisions and casualties (table RAS0701).

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/top-10-reasons-for-failing-the-driving-test/top-10-reasons-for-failing-the-driving-test-in-great-britain#not-having-proper-control-of-the-steering