Update: April, 2023

 

Introduction – Top 10 Reasons for Automatic Fails Happen

Some drivers on their road test just go around the block and then ended up back at the DMV. Unfortunately to hear those words of terror:

YOU FAILED!

They committed a dangerous action and it was an automatic fail in their driver’s test. Today, we’re going to give you the top 10 reasons that automatic fails happen on a driver’s test. Don’t do these 10 things and you can be successful in passing your driver’s test first time. While these are automatic fails on a test, it’s important to be mindful of these even post-test. Being a safe, smart driver saves lives!

1. Not Stopping for Emergency Vehicles

One of the first of the top 10 reasons for automatic fail on your driver’s test is not stopping for emergency vehicles. If you don’t stop immediately for an emergency vehicle you will fail your driver’s test. You may come across other drivers who only reduce their speed, or neglect to stop at all when emergency vehicles pass. This is not only incorrect, but very dangerous!

Drivers preparing for a road test must come to a stop as soon as there is an emergency vehicle with lights and sirens.

When emergency vehicles appear in your path of travel, you must pull over to the closest shoulder and stop immediately.

This white van, had it been on a driver’s test would have automatically failed because it didn’t stop before the intersection. If you’re sitting in an intersection, it might be best just to stay put where you are. Otherwise, move to the closest shoulder and stop. 

2. Yellow Lights

The next reason in the top 10 reasons for automatic fail a driver could receive is yellow lights. Red and yellow lights mean exactly the same thing on a driver’s test and you must come to a stop if you can.

For the purposes of teaching a beginner driver, yellow and red traffic lights mean stop. One of the top 10 reasons for automatic fail on driver's test.

For the purposes of a driver’s test, yellow and red lights mean the same thing…STOP if you can safely.

If you’re proceeding through the intersection and the examiner looks up and sees the light turn red as you’re moving through the intersection as right here, in this example you will fail your driver’s test because you ran a red light.

3. Blocking the Box

This reason is something that isn’t just one of the top 10 reasons for automatic fail a driver risks, but is important to consider when you drive after your test. Entering an intersection that you can’t clear if there’s congestion is the meaning behind ‘blocking the box’. Do not enter the intersection if you can’t move completely out of the intersection on the other side.

Stop behind the stop line, wait for the traffic to move up and then proceed through the intersection. If you get stuck in the intersection and the light turns red that’s an automatic fail on a driver’s test. When you come across a side street and the traffic is backed up you have to stop before the side street to allow traffic to proceed.

Driving into an intersection you can't clear before the light turns red is an automatic fail on a driver's test.

Driving into an intersection you can’t clear before the light turns red is one of the top 10 reasons for automatic fail on a driver’s test.

If you pull forward and block that cross street you are blocking an intersection and it’s an automatic fail on a driver’s test.

4. Speeding in a School Zone

Practice in and around the test center and locate the school zones and know where they are and double, triple check that you are not speeding. It’s okay to go a couple of miles an hour less than the posted speed limit in the school speeds zone. As well watch out for playground speeds zones. These are crucial zones to watch out for to avoid getting an automatic fail.

School speed zones are the one place that you can drive a couple of miles an hour below the speed limit.

School speed zones are the one place that you can drive a couple of miles an hour below the speed limit. This could minimize your chances of getting caught on one if these top 10 reasons for automatic fail.

While speeding through these zones will result in an automatic fail during your driver’s test, this is dangerous even after your test. Children are in these areas, so slowing down and driving with extreme care anytime you’re driving could save lives! Another great thing to keep with you as you continue your driving in the future. Don’t let this one of the top 10 reasons for automatic fail sneak up on you.

5. Disobeying a Regulatory Sign

Action contrary to a regulatory signs, stop signs, speed signs, moving over to the right lane will land you an automatic fail! If you are unfamiliar of which signs are regulatory, click the image below to see examples. This will help you identify as you practice for your driver’s test. Everyday you will face signs, so it is vital you know what you’re looking at.

Stop, speed, yield, and railway crossing are all regulatory signs. These must be obeyed at all times on your driver's test.

Stop, speed, yield, and railway crossing are all regulatory signs. These must be obeyed at all times on your driver’s test, hence why it’s in the top 10 reasons for automatic fail.

If you roll through a stop sign, that is an action contrary to a regulatory sign, and you will fail your driver’s test. Speeding, keeping up with traffic flow or staying in the left lane for more than a few blocks before moving over to the right lane. All of these will cause you to fail your driver’s test outright.

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This will make you a safer smarter driver and reduce your chances of being involved in an accident.

6. Right-of-Way

Charging pedestrians and not giving the right of way to pedestrians who are crossing the street is next on our list of top 10 reasons for automatic fail. When you watch the video at the beginning of this post, you’ll see this red car here is charging the pedestrians. That’s an automatic fail.

You must have a minimum of 3’ft (1 metre) between your vehicle and pedestrians for safety and defensive driving.

As well if you crowd or charge pedestrians on a left-hand turn that too is an automatic fail on a driver’s test and you will not be successful. It would be a very short drive back to the DMV.

This vehicle here is charging the pedestrian on the left-hand turn, automatic fail.

If a pedestrian is crossing against the light, and the light turns green and the pedestrian is still in the intersection, simply take your foot off the throttle, pause, wait for the pedestrian to attain the curb and then proceed.

You can see the pedestrians are still in the intersection when the light turns green simply pause, wait for them to clear the intersection, if you do what this car did, it’s an automatic fail.

7. Hitting the Curb

What’s another thing in our list of top 10 reasons for automatic fail? Striking the curb when parking or knocking the examiner out of his or her seat. This shows the instructor you’re not driving with care and could pose a risk to a pedestrian if they were to walk by at that moment.

By starting with the pylons and backing along a road without a curb you'll prevent backing over the curb.

Pushing the back wheel over the curb when parallel parking or reversing along a curb is an automatic fail on a driver’s test.

If you touch the curb and readjust that’s okay, but if you strike the curb or push the back wheel up over the curb, that will be an automatic fail on your driver’s test.

8. Fixed Objects

Just like how hitting the curb agressively is one of the top 10 reasons for automatic fail, striking a fixed object when you’re parking, turning or backing for the purposes of your driver’s test is also in our top 10 reasons for automatic fail.

So when you’re reverse stall parking, make sure that you stay out a little bit so that you don’t hit the concrete barrier often found behind the parking spaces or the fence or whatnot, if you do that, automatic fail.

Practicing the Ohio Maneuverability Test or parallel parking with cones, striking a cone is the same thing as striking a fixed object during your real test.

 

If you hit a cone when parallel parking on your driver's test, it's an automatic fail. Better to be a bit off, than strike the cone...go SLOW!

If you hit a cone during the Ohio Maneuverability test or when parallel parking with cones, it’s an automatic fail on a driver’s test.

So go slow, make sure that you know where the cones are when you’re parallel parking or doing the Ohio Maneuverability Test. In the State of Ohio, this really really sucks because then you have to take the online course before you can attempt the on-road test again.

9. Right at Red Lights

Turning right on a red light.

Yes, you can turn right on a red light for the purposes of your driver’s test but you must first come to a complete stop at the correct stopping position before you proceed.

If you come up to the intersection and the light turns yellow and you proceed with your right turn, you will fail your driver’s test. As I said previously, yellow and red are the same color for the purposes of your driver’s test.

Unless signs prohibit it, or you are in the 5 boroughs of New York, you can turn right on a red light after following correct procedures.

Unless signs prohibit it, or you’re in the 5 boroughs of New York City, you can turn right on a red light after following correct procedures.

You can see on the vdeo at the beginning, that the first car proceeds on the red light after stopping at the correct stopping position but these subsequent vehicles simply come up and proceed.

One of them doesn’t even come to a complete stop before proceeding around the corner here, the white vehicle here. If you do what that white vehicle did on a driver’s test, you will not be successful. They did not come to a complete stop before the stop line and check for pedestrians and cross traffic.

10. Other Road Users

The final thing on the top 10 reasons for automatic fail is another road user having to take dangerous action. Dangerous action: if another vehicle has to take an evasive action or you have incorrect lane positioning, that is an automatic fail on a driver’s test.

Lane positioning here, you can see the vehicle, in the video above, in the intersection not really sure what they’re doing and they’re kind of all over the place.

That would be one of the most important reasons on the top 10 reasons for automatic fail, and sometimes it can be discretionary according to the examiner.

If another road users has to take evasive action to avoid crashing with your vehicle, that is an automatic fail on a driver's test.

If another road users has to take evasive action to avoid crashing with your vehicle, that is an automatic fail on a driver’s test, being one of the top 10 reasons for automatic fail.

If you take a driving lesson with the driving instructor or take the course over on the Smart Drive Test website, these will help you out. As well, turning right and then drifting over into the left-hand lane.

You cut off another driver, be guaranteed it’s going to be a short trip back to the DMV.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it. You now are another step closer to passing your driving tests and becoming a safer, smarter driver. Keep in mind every reason of the top 10 reasons for automatic fail anytime you get behind the wheel. Will it not only possibly save your life, it could save someone else’s.

Hang on there one sec, we know that your driving test is the most stressful day of your life!

Click over here for a pass to driver’s test first-time course package and check that out and be guaranteed that you’re going to pass your driver’s test first time.

And remember pick the best answer, not necessarily the right answer.

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