Although the majority of my pupils pass their driving test on the first attempt, some unfortunately do fail. I thought it might be useful to learners, if I start a series of posts capturing why some pupils fail. I will start off with a rather tricky roundabout that may be included on a test route from Westbury Test Centre – Yarnbrook Roundabout.

If you happen to be on your test at a busy time of day, and the test route takes you to this roundabout, then you need to take extreme care. Particularly if you approach it from Hawkeridge.

Most of the traffic will be approaching from the other directions, so getting on to the roundabout from Hawkeriidge Road can be particularly difficult.

There is likely to be a stream of traffic approaching the roundbout from the Westbury Road, and a stream of traffic approaching the roundabout from West Ashton on the A350.

You need to be patient. If there are no gaps in the flow from Westbury, then you need to wait for a blocker coming from West Ashton, heading to Hawkeridge. Also, because the roundabout is very small, that vehicle coming from Westbury will not be blocked for long, so you need to Look, Assess, Decide and Act (LADA) swiftly. Practice finding that bite point and pulling off quickly.

However, if in doubt, don’t go! Its much safer to wait than to risk pulling out in front of another vehicle. Remember, if you cause another vehicle to slow down or change direction, then you wil; fail your test.

Take care, and watch out for another post on why pupils fail.