Automatic Failure: 8 Common Mistakes to Avoid on Your Ontario Road Test

You've practiced for hours, studied the MTO handbook, and feel ready for your G2 or G road test. While your goal is to showcase your best driving, it's even more important to avoid the critical errors that will result in an immediate fail. An examiner's main priority is road safety, and if you make a mistake they deem dangerous, the test will end, regardless of how well you parallel parked.

To help you drive with confidence, here are the eight most common mistakes that lead to an automatic failure on an Ontario driving test, and how you can avoid them.

1. Disobeying Traffic Signs or Signals

This is the most clear-cut reason for failure. It shows the examiner you don't know or respect the fundamental laws of the road.

The Mistake: Not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign (a "rolling stop"), stopping past the white line into the crosswalk, or running a red light. This also includes ignoring a "Do Not Enter" or "Wrong Way" sign.
How to Avoid It: When you see a stop sign, your wheels must completely cease their rotation. Come to a full and complete stop before the line. For traffic lights, a yellow light means stop if you can do so safely—don't accelerate to try and beat it.

Driving safely is all about being aware of your surroundings. The examiner needs to see that you are actively scanning and observing.

The Mistake: Failing to check your mirrors regularly is a minor error, but failing to perform a shoulder check to look into your blind spot before changing lanes or merging is a major one. Similarly, failing to scan left, centre, and right at an intersection before proceeding is a critical fault.
How to Avoid It: Make your actions obvious. Exaggerate your head movements when checking mirrors and blind spots. Verbally state your actions to yourself: "Mirror, signal, blind spot." Before moving from a stop, scan the entire intersection to ensure it's clear.

3. Failure to Yield the Right-of-Way

This demonstrates an inability to safely integrate with other road users, a core driving competency.

The Mistake: Pulling out in front of another vehicle, forcing them to brake or swerve. Failing to yield to pedestrians who are at or entering a crosswalk. Not yielding to traffic when merging.
How to Avoid It: Be patient and err on the side of caution. It's better to wait for a large, undeniable gap in traffic than to risk it. Make eye contact with pedestrians and be prepared to stop well in advance of a crosswalk.

4. Unsafe Speed (Too Fast or Too Slow)

Maintaining proper speed shows you are in control of the vehicle and aware of your environment.

The Mistake: Exceeding the speed limit at any time is an error; doing so in a school or community safety zone is a guaranteed fail. Conversely, driving excessively slow (e.g., 20 km/h below the limit for no reason) is also considered unsafe as it impedes the flow of traffic.
How to Avoid It: Constantly glance at your speedometer. Pay close attention to speed limit signs, especially when they change. Aim to drive at the speed limit when conditions are ideal.

5. Striking the Curb

This error shows a lack of vehicle control and spatial awareness, especially during required maneuvers.

The Mistake: Hitting the curb with force or mounting the curb with your wheels during your parallel park, three-point turn, or roadside stop. A light touch that "kisses" the curb might be a minor error, but a hard bump is a major one.
How to Avoid It: Practice your maneuvers in an empty lot or on a quiet street until you know your vehicle's reference points. During the test, perform these actions slowly and use your mirrors to judge your distance.

6. Following Too Closely

Tailgating is an aggressive and unsafe action that leaves you with no time to react.

The Mistake: Not leaving enough space between your vehicle and the one in front of you.
How to Avoid It: Use the two-second rule. When the vehicle in front of you passes a fixed object (like a signpost), start counting "one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two." If you pass the same object before you finish counting, you are too close. Increase this to three or four seconds in poor weather.

7. Poor Lane Maintenance

Your ability to keep the vehicle in the correct lane position is fundamental.

The Mistake: Drifting out of your lane, driving on the lane markings, or making turns that are too wide or too short, causing you to enter the wrong lane.
How to Avoid It: Look well ahead to where you want to go, not just at the road directly in front of your car. This helps you steer smoothly. For turns, remember to "push-pull" the steering wheel and look through the turn to your intended path.

8. Examiner Intervention

This is the ultimate automatic failure. If the examiner has to do anything to prevent a dangerous situation, the test is over.

The Mistake: The examiner has to grab the steering wheel, use a dual brake (if equipped), or give a loud verbal command like "STOP!" to prevent a collision.
How to Avoid It: This is usually the result of one of the other errors on this list. By being observant, patient, and in control of your vehicle, you will prevent any situation from escalating to the point where an examiner needs to intervene.

By being mindful of these critical errors, you can focus on demonstrating your positive driving habits. Practice to build confidence, and drive safely to pass your test. Good luck!