A Freedom of Information request to the DVSA has uncovered the most common reasons why learners fail their driving tests.

The information, acquired by Hippo Leasing, makes for interesting reading. Topping the list was pulling out of junctions safely, causing a fail on observation. Across the country, a total of 167,100 serious or dangerous faults were issued based on this.

Observations in general got learner drivers in trouble, with attentiveness to the mirrors coming in second as a reason for failure, with 139,883 faults issued.

• The 10 most reliable car brands

• Can you drive your car after an MOT fail if the old test hasn’t expired?

In third, turning right at junctions was a fault noted 77,590 times. Steering control resulted in 73,715 faults for fourth place. And traffic light responses were next, with 72,110 faults.

Learners’ inability to move off, road positioning, reverse parking and responses to road signs fill up the rest of the top 10.

Shockingly, 577 faults were issued last year because a learner’s eyesight was too poor to drive. This is tested by being asked to read a number plate from 20 metres. 

As for the only fault that was issued precisely zero times? That’ll be for promptness on a controlled stop. It seems UK learners’ reaction times are on the money when it comes to the emergency stop.

• Learner drivers in the south pay 70 percent more

• Offensive MOT advisory notice ‘completely unacceptable’

“At the end of 2017, the DVSA introduced changes to the practical driving test to increase driver safety and the quality of training in light of the troubling statistic that road collisions remain the biggest killer of young people in the UK,” said Tom Preston, MD of Hippo Leasing.

“Driving test faults reflect the factors which cause the most accidents on the road. Observation is the most common factor, according to the DfT.

“So while over 167,000 learners failed their practical test last year for this very reason, it’s important candidates learn from their mistakes to keep themselves and others safe once they’re qualified to drive.”

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Britain’s richest man, has given the green light to a tough, go-anywhere 4×4 called Grenadier that will be built in Wales and debut in 2021.

The new Ineos Automotive Grenadier, a vehicle inspired by the demise of the original Land Rover Defender, will create up to 500 jobs at a new factory in Bridgend. Ford currently builds engines in the region, but is closing the site in September 2020.

Ineos Automotive hopes to tap into this automotive expertise in recruiting for its new greenfield factory.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has welcomed the announcement, calling it a “vote of confidence in UK expertise [which] keeps our status as pioneers of new vehicle technology”.

Ineos Group chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe said the decision to build the Grenadier in the UK “is a significant expression of confidence in British manufacturing, which has always been at the heart of what Ineos stands for”.

The Grenadier name has been chosen via an online poll. The Grenadier pub on London’s Wilton Road was where Sir Jim first announced the new project to the world.

A total of £600 million will be invested in Ineos Automotive to create the Grenadier. The company aims to sell it globally as well as in the UK, with the U.S. a particular focus.

• New Land Rover Defender revealed: the headline facts

‘Genuine utility vehicle’

In a private briefing, commercial director Mark Tennant said the new 4×4 “will take the S out of SUV”. It will be a genuine utility vehicle, and there will be nothing sporting about it.

He told Motoring Research it will not be as cheap as the original Land Rover Defender, but won’t be as expensive as the new Defender, which is priced from £45,000 in launch 110 guise.

The final design, which has already been frozen, will be revealed in 12 months’ time, he said. “We will make a virtue of boxiness. This vehicle is about simplicity, of ‘less is more’.

“It has been very well received in focus groups.”

Ineos Automotive wants to make 25,000 Grenadiers in the medium term. Building up to this figure will take a few years. Bosses admitted they could grow this further if there was strong market demand for the new 4×4.

An ‘open source’ approach to engineering sees the firm working in partnership with engineering specialists. BMW is supplying latest-generation 3.0-litre turbo petrol and diesel engines, while a company in Austria is developing the chassis.

• Projekt Grenadier 4×4 to use BMW engines

Ineos Automotive is building its own box frame ladder chassis, though, investing in a new site in Portugal to assemble and paint the bodies. Up to 500 jobs will be created there, too.

The bodies will be shipped to Wales, along with engines from Austria and other parts from European suppliers, for full assembly in Bridgend.

In making the project public today, Tennant said it would enable the company to start approaching local suppliers, to see if they could produce parts for the new Grenadier.

Localising the production of, for example, seats would help further grow the jobs creation potential in the UK, and south Wales in particular.

The Grenadier will be an ultra-tough 4×4 with a one-tonne payload and 3.5-tonne towing capacity. The  company hopes to draw those who need a genuine working vehicle – such as farmers and the Forestry Commission – who are underserved by new vehicle options.

• Desert adventure: new Ford Ranger Raptor vs. Morocco

Optimised for hard work

The demise of the original Land Rover Defender left a gap in the market that is currently being filled by double cab pick-ups. Ineos Automotive says the Grenadier will be more capable and better-optimised to hard work.

In the U.S., Tennant feels it can compete with America’s best-selling vehicle, the Ford F-150 truck, as well as the more spiritually-aligned Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator.

The company is already planning for the future. “This will be the first Ineos Automotive vehicle, but not the last,” said Tennant.

He said the company is working flat-out to a 2021 reveal. Ineos sponsors the Americas Cup boat race and “it would be nice to have prototypes to use in Auckland in March 2021”.

It is even planning zero-emissions alternative fuel versions – not battery electric vehicles, but using hydrogen fuel cells. “We could have one by 2026,” said engineering director Dirk Heilmann. “Will we, though? I can’t say… although the technology [to do it] is already here today.

“We are already Europe’s largest producer of hydrogen,” added Tennant.  

A team of health and safety experts is calling for bicycles to be fitted with indicators, to improve cyclist safety by making their manoeuvres more visible.

It would help cyclists avoid what Protecting.co.uk calls ‘the curse of SMIDSY – “sorry mate, I didn’t see you”.

“We say that anything that makes a cyclist more visible and ends the curse of the SMIDSY accident has to be a good thing,” said Protecting spokesperson Mark Hall.

• London to face blanket 20mph speed limit

RoSPA figures reveal 102 cyclists were killed on British roads in 2016, while over 18,000 were injured.

According to government figures, the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured increased by 17 percent between 2008 and 2018.

A survey of cyclists that also own cars found that 65 percent support indicators on bicycles. Some riders are particularly supportive of the bike indicator idea:

“I’ve had a good three, four accidents where the driver’s given me the whole SMIDSY thing – he claimed he never saw me – what’s better than a great big flashing light?” said Jim, a cyclist respondent from Southampton.

“Great idea at night,” said Helen, a cyclist respondent from Derbyshire. “They might even think I’m a motorbike and give me a lot more space.”

• Chris Grayling wants to save hedgehogs with a new road sign

• UK government has 74 ideas to cut road deaths

Others don’t believe that bicycles are the issue. “Bike riders have never been more visible these days,” said an unnamed respondent.

“Their bikes are lit up like Christmas trees, and we’re all dressed in hi-visibility gear that’s brighter than the sun. Perhaps it’s terrible drivers who are to blame.”

“The stats bear out the fact that motorists just don’t pay enough attention to cyclists, bikers and pedestrians, day after day,” said another. “We don’t need another gimmick just to make it look like something is being done.”

In response, Hall claims that indicators are another box ticked in the argument against drivers who claim they can’t see bicycle riders.

“Most cyclists want to be seen on the roads, and they know that they need to defend themselves from poor drivers.

“For the sake of beating those SMIDSY types, indicators have got to be a good thing.”

Billed as being responsible for creating the hot hatch market, the Mk1 GTI has developed a cult following across the globe.

However, this one-owner example of the iconic fast Volkswagen has set a new record for a sale price on auction website Bring a Trailer.

At $33,000, some $5,500 more than a brand-new Mk7.5 Golf GTI would cost to buy, this is big money for a small car.

Well-traveled Rabbit

What makes this particular 1983 Rabbit GTI special is that it has remained with one owner for all of its life.

Built at the Westmoreland factory in Pennsylvania, the GTI was delivered to a US Army pilot in Germany. At the end of his deployment, the Rabbit came back to the United States in late 1984.

In those 26 years the seller covered 100,000 miles, proving that it had been used as intended. Lowered suspension, an upgraded exhaust for the 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine, and a new stereo system were all added over the years.

One careful owner

Having belong to just one person, it meant the records and documentation from the early 1980s were still present. A Carfax report verified the mileage covered, and the ownership story of the car.

The original order sheet confirmed that the Rabbit GTI had been fitted with optional extras, including air conditioning and a sunroof from the factory. A total of $9,840 was paid back when the car was new.

Maintenance work over the years included a respray for the Diamond Silver bodywork. The driver’s seat was also re-upholstered with genuine Volkswagen fabric trim. A recent oil change had also been completed.

Bucking the trend

The selling price of $33,000 pushes this car to become the most expensive Rabbit GTI sold on Bring a Trailer.

Previously, the highest price paid for a Mk1 GTI on the website had been $16,000, paid for a late 1984 car in February this year. An original-owner 1983 Rabbit, with similar mileage but an upgraded 2.0-liter engine, achieved just over $11,000 in April 2017.

Market trends for compact performance cars from the 1980s and ‘90s have shown a surge in recent months. Affordable machines in particular have proven popular, drawing in younger collectors and enthusiasts.

Yet the sale price for this 1983 Rabbit GTI shows that buyers are still willing to pay a substantial premium for cared for original examples.