Lorry, bus or coach driving test (off-road exercises)
Understanding your lorry, bus or coach off-road exercises test result, including what was assessed, what sorts of things counted as faults, and how to improve in each area.
Your examiner or assessor will tell you if you passed the test and give you feedback.
Talk to your instructor about your result. This will help them focus any more lessons you need on the right skills.
You or your instructor have to rebook your test and pay again if you failed. You can retake the test the following day.
You were assessed on:
- control - your ability to control the vehicle when reversing
- observation - your ability to check your surroundings for other road users or hazards
You needed to reverse your vehicle into a restricted space and stop at a certain point. You should have checked for any potential hazards and shown good control of the clutch, and steering.
Examples of faults
Some of the most common faults for this area include:
- crossing any of the yellow boundary lines with the full width of a tyre whilst reversing
- hitting any of the cones
Your examiner or assessor will explain specific details of the faults you make.
How you can improve in this area
If you made faults in this area during your test, or if you want to improve in this area, you should:
- check rules 200 to 203 of The Highway Code
- read pages 304 to 306 of ‘The Official DVSA Guide to Driving Goods Vehicles (2020 edition)’
- read pages 262 to 265 of ‘The Official DVSA Guide to Driving Buses and Coaches (2020 edition)’
If you need to rebook the test, spend time practising this skill with your driving instructor or supervising driver.
You needed to uncouple your trailer, move your vehicle and park alongside your trailer then re-couple the trailer safely.
Examples of faults
Some of the most common faults for this area include:
- not applying trailer brake when uncoupling
- not checking trailer brake when coupling
- not completing a tug or pull test to check the connection
- not applying a dog clip or safety chain after recoupling
How you can improve in this area
If you made faults in this area during your test, or if you want to improve in this area, you should:
- read the Health and Safety Executive’s coupling and uncoupling guidance
- read pages 343 to 347 of ‘The Official DVSA Guide to Driving Goods Vehicles (2020 edition)’
- read pages 308 to 310 of ‘The Official DVSA Guide to Driving Buses and Coaches (2020 edition)’
If you need to rebook the test, spend time practising this skill.