Topic
Safety and your vehicle
Last updated
Safety and your vehicle covers the daily and weekly checks that keep your car roadworthy — tyre tread and pressure, brakes, lights, washers, wipers — and the warning lights that tell you something needs attention before it becomes dangerous.
What’s tested
- Tyre tread depth (1.6 mm legal minimum across the central 3/4 of the breadth)
- Tyre pressure and what under- or over-inflation does to handling
- What to do when a brake warning light comes on
- Recognising the main dashboard warning lights
- Securing the vehicle when parked — locks, valuables, handbrake
Key Highway Code rules
Try a real DVSA question
Practice question
From the DVSA question bank
What should you do if your vehicle pulls to one side when you use the brakes?
Show explanation
The correct answer is B.
The brakes on your vehicle must be effective and properly adjusted. If your vehicle pulls to one side when braking, take it to be checked by a qualified mechanic as soon as you can.
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Common mistakes
- Ignoring a faint or intermittent brake warning light
- Driving on tyres at the legal 1.6 mm tread — safer to replace at 3 mm
- Leaving valuables on view in a parked car
- Not checking tyre pressure before a long journey when fully loaded
Keep going
All 14 topics
- Alertness Staying focused: mirrors, observation, scanning the road, avoiding fatigue and distraction.
- Attitude Considerate driving: patience, following distance, behaviour at crossings and roundabouts.
- Safety margins Stopping distances, weather, road surface, and the space you need to react safely.
- Hazard awareness Anticipating risk: spotting clues, planning ahead, reading other road users’ behaviour.
- Vulnerable road users Pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, horse riders, children, older and disabled people.
- Other types of vehicle Sharing the road with lorries, buses, motorcycles, trams and emergency vehicles.
- Vehicle handling Driving in rain, fog, snow, dark and strong wind — how conditions change the car.
- Motorway rules Joining, lane discipline, speed, breakdowns and smart-motorway running lanes.
- Rules of the road Speed limits, junctions, roundabouts, parking, level crossings and one-way streets.
- Road and traffic signs The visual language of UK roads — shape, colour and meaning of every sign and signal.
- Documents Licence, insurance, MOT, V5C log book and SORN — the paperwork to be legally on the road.
- Incidents, accidents and emergencies First aid, CPR, AED, RTC procedure, breakdowns and tunnel safety.
- Vehicle loading Carrying passengers, luggage, roof loads and towing — and how each changes the car.