THE TEN reasons why learner drivers in Dunfermline fail their test have been revealed.

A Freedom of Information request has revealed that Scottish drivers racked up a total of 125,273 'Dangerous and Serious Faults' (DSFs) during 2019/20.

Across Scotland, Glasgow ranked first with 7,497, with Edinburgh's 4,700 in second and Bishopbriggs in third with 1,767.

The findings show that drivers in Dunfermline had almost half the amount of DSFs when sitting their tests compared to learners in Kirkcaldy.

There were 566 registered in Dunfermline compared to 1,037 in Kirkcaldy.

Of the DFS, the most common failure of local drivers in Dunfermline was not observing properly at a junction, which accounted for 74 failed tests.

Forgetting to check mirrors before changing direction was the next highest failure with 60 drivers failing as a result.

Judgement of when to cross other traffic was third with 52 failed tests.

The full list of failures were:

  • Junctions – observation: 74.
  • Mirrors – change direction: 60.
  • Judgement – crossing: 52.
  • Response to signs – traffic lights: 39.
  • Move off – safely: 32.
  • Move off – control: 29.
  • Reverse park – control: 28.
  • Positioning – normal driving: 27.
  • Use of speed: 27.
  • Junctions – turning right: 21

Car sales company Lookers requested a new FOI to find out the top reasons for failing tests per area.

It was then revealed that the top reason for failing in Scotland was revealed as ‘not observing properly at a junction’, which totalled more than 4,067 dangerous and serious faults, with areas such as Glasgow (1,051) and Edinburgh (482) having the highest number of faults for this manoeuvre.

A spokesperson from Lookers commented: “Passing your driving test is a rite of passage for many of us.

"I think we can all relate to having manoeuvres we hoped wouldn’t come up in our test, the research is a good insight into what learner drivers struggle most with under pressure.

"Hopefully, those looking to take their test this year will be able to brush up on those manoeuvres causing the most issues!”

Test faults between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, when the test result was a fail, were included in the data provided.