Instant Fail: 10 Common Mistakes to Avoid on the Illinois Driving Test

You've passed your written test, completed driver's ed, and logged your 50 hours of practice. The final step—the Illinois behind-the-wheel driving test—is finally here. Even drivers who feel confident can fall victim to simple, avoidable mistakes under the pressure of being evaluated by a Secretary of State examiner.

The examiner's goal is to ensure you are a safe, competent, and law-abiding driver. While you can make minor errors, certain actions are considered "dangerous" and can lead to an immediate failure. By understanding the most common pitfalls, you can consciously practice to avoid them.

1. The Incomplete "Rolling" Stop

This is the most frequent and critical error. A rolling stop, where your vehicle's tires never fully cease their rotation at a stop sign, is a guaranteed way to lose significant points and can lead to an automatic fail.

• How to Avoid It: Bring your vehicle to a full and complete stop behind the white limit line or crosswalk. Feel the car settle. If it helps, count "one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand" in your head after you feel the car stop.

2. Poor Observation and Scanning

This is a major focus for examiners. Driving safely is about much more than looking out the front windshield. They are trained to watch your head and eye movements constantly.

• How to Avoid It: Exaggerate your head movements. Before every single turn, lane change, or merge, you must perform an obvious head check by looking over your shoulder into your blind spot. Also, make it a habit to scan intersections (left-right-left) and check your mirrors frequently.

3. Failure to Yield the Right-of-Way

This is a major safety violation that can cause an automatic failure. It means you forced another driver or a pedestrian to stop, slow down, or swerve to avoid a collision with you.

• How to Avoid It: Be patient and defensive. When in doubt, it is safer to yield. This applies to yielding to oncoming traffic on an unprotected left turn, yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks, and understanding the rules at four-way stops.

4. Poor Speed Control

This goes both ways. Driving too fast is an obvious error, but driving excessively slow can also cost you points for impeding the safe flow of traffic.

• How to Avoid It: Be constantly aware of the posted speed limit. Obey it in good conditions. In the absence of a sign, know the Illinois defaults (e.g., 30 mph in residential areas). Adjust your speed for poor weather or heavy traffic.

5. Following Too Closely (Tailgating)

This is an aggressive and unsafe habit that demonstrates poor judgment to the examiner.

• How to Avoid It: Use the "three-second rule" as recommended in the "Illinois Rules of the Road." When the vehicle in front of you passes a fixed object (like a utility pole), start counting "one-one thousand, two-one thousand, three-one thousand." You should not reach that same object before you finish counting.

6. Hitting or Driving Over a Curb

Whether you are making a right turn, backing up, or parking on a hill, striking the curb with your tires shows a lack of vehicle control.

• How to Avoid It: Know the dimensions of your vehicle. Give yourself adequate space on turns without swinging too wide. When backing up, look over your shoulder and use your mirrors to maintain a straight line.

7. Improper Turning

Clean, correct turns are a fundamental driving skill. Swinging too wide into another lane or cutting a corner too sharply will cost you points.

• How to Avoid It: For right turns, stay in the lane closest to the right-hand curb. For left turns, turn into the corresponding lane on the new street. Always signal at least 100 feet in advance in residential areas.

8. Poor Lane Management

You must keep your vehicle centered in your lane without weaving or drifting.

• How to Avoid It: Focus on looking far down the road toward your intended path, not just at the road directly in front of your car. This helps your brain naturally keep the car straight.

9. Lack of Confidence or Being Too Timid

While examiners expect some nerves, being overly hesitant can be dangerous. Indecisiveness at an intersection can confuse other drivers and lead to unsafe situations.

• How to Avoid It: The best cure for nerves is experience. The more you practice, the more confident you will become. Trust in your driver's ed training and make safe, decisive actions.

10. Not Following Instructions

The examiner will give you clear, simple directions like "take the next left" or "park on this hill." Failing to follow them, either due to nerves or not paying attention, will result in lost points.

• How to Avoid It: Listen carefully to each instruction. If you are unsure what the examiner said, it is perfectly fine to calmly ask, "Could you please repeat that?" It's much better to clarify than to make a wrong move.

By being mindful of these common mistakes during your practice drives, you can build the safe habits needed to ace your Illinois driving test.