Every UK practical driving test begins with two vehicle safety questions, commonly known as the show me tell me questions. These are asked before you even leave the test centre car park, and they are entirely preparable. Unlike the unpredictable junctions, roundabouts, and road situations you will face during the drive itself, the show me tell me questions are drawn from a fixed and published list. There is no excuse for being caught off guard by them, and yet every year a significant number of learners lose marks here simply because they did not prepare.
At MK City Driving School, our driving instructors in Milton Keynes cover the full show me tell me question list thoroughly with every learner before their test date. This guide gives you every question, every correct answer, and the preparation approach that means you walk into your test knowing this part is already secured.
What Are the Show Me Tell Me Questions?
The show me tell me questions were introduced by the DVSA to assess whether a learner driver understands basic vehicle safety and maintenance checks before they are licensed to drive independently. During your practical driving test, the examiner will ask you two questions from the official published list. One question will be a tell me question, asked before you start driving, where you explain how you would carry out a particular safety check. The other will be a show me question, asked while you are driving, where you are asked to demonstrate an action such as operating the windscreen washers while continuing to drive safely.
Getting either question wrong results in one driving fault being recorded. This is treated as a minor fault under the standard fault classification system, which means it does not automatically fail your test. However, every fault matters, and getting an entirely preventable question wrong when the full list is published in advance is an unnecessary risk that good preparation eliminates completely.
The full official list of show me tell me questions is published by the DVSA and is available at gov.uk/show-me-tell-me-vehicle-safety-questions. Your examiner will select two questions from this published list, which means thorough preparation across the entire list removes any element of surprise.
The Full List of Tell Me Questions
Tell me questions are asked before you start driving, typically while you are seated in the vehicle before moving off. You are asked to explain how you would carry out a specific safety check, in your own words, without actually performing the action.
Open the bonnet and identify where you would check the engine oil level, and tell me how you would check that the engine has sufficient oil. The correct approach is to explain that you would check the oil level using the dipstick, ensuring the engine is cold and the car is on level ground, and that the oil level should sit between the minimum and maximum markers.
Tell me how you would check that the brakes are working before starting a journey. The correct answer involves explaining that you would check the brake pedal for an excessive amount of travel and for a firm response, with no sponginess, before setting off.
Tell me how you would check the tyres to ensure that they have sufficient tread depth and that their general condition is safe to use, including pressures. The correct answer covers checking for cuts, bulges, or other damage to the tyre, confirming the tread depth meets the legal minimum of 1.6 millimetres across the central three quarters of the tyre, and confirming tyre pressures are set to the manufacturer’s recommended levels, ideally checked using a reliable pressure gauge.
Tell me how you would check the parking brake for excessive wear. The correct approach is to apply the parking brake and check that it holds the vehicle on a slope without excessive movement of the lever or excessive travel before it engages.
Tell me how you would check the power assisted steering for correct operation before starting a journey. The correct answer explains that if the steering becomes heavy, this may indicate a fault, and that a slight resistance felt when turning the steering wheel just before moving off, with the engine running, suggests the system is working correctly.
Tell me how you would know if there was a problem with your anti-lock braking system. The correct response explains that a warning light on the dashboard would illuminate if there was a fault with the ABS system.
Tell me how you would check that the headlights and tail lights are working. The correct approach is to explain that you would operate the switch, and if necessary, check the lights visually by walking around the vehicle.
Tell me how you would check the direction indicators are working correctly. The correct answer covers switching on the ignition, operating the indicators, and visually checking that they are flashing correctly, or asking someone to confirm if you cannot see them directly.
Tell me how you would check the brake lights are working. The correct response explains that you would operate the brake pedal while asking someone to confirm the lights are illuminating, or by using the reflection in a window or garage door if no one is available to assist.
The Full List of Show Me Questions
Show me questions are asked while you are driving, and you are asked to demonstrate the action while continuing to drive safely. These require you to manage the demonstration without compromising your driving standard, which is itself part of what the examiner is assessing.
Show me how you would clean the windscreen using the windscreen washers and wipers. You demonstrate by operating the relevant controls while maintaining safe vehicle control.
Show me how you would use the demist controls to clear the windscreen of mist or condensation. You demonstrate by operating the demist function and explaining the settings you would use.
Show me how you would set the rear demist function. Similar to the windscreen demist, you demonstrate operating the controls.
Show me how you would operate the horn. You demonstrate by sounding the horn briefly while in a safe position to do so.
Show me how you would switch on the rear fog lights and explain when you would use them. You demonstrate operating the controls and explain that rear fog lights should be used when visibility is reduced to 100 metres or less.
Show me how you would switch on the dipped headlights. You demonstrate operating the headlight controls.
Show me how you would operate the windscreen wiper controls and demonstrate how you would select the different settings, including the intermittent wipe setting if available. You demonstrate cycling through the available wiper settings.
Show me how you would open and close the side window. You demonstrate operating the window controls.
Show me how you would set the demist controls to clear the front windscreen effectively. This may overlap with previous demist questions but specifically focuses on the front windscreen.
How to Practise the Show Me Tell Me Questions Effectively
The most effective way to prepare for the show me tell me questions is not to memorise scripted answers but to genuinely understand each check and be able to explain it confidently in your own words. Examiners are listening for understanding, not for word-perfect recitation of an official phrase.
During your driving lessons in Milton Keynes, ask your instructor to physically show you each check in the vehicle you are training in. Seeing the dipstick, locating the washer fluid reservoir, and physically operating the demist controls in the actual car you will use for your test builds a level of familiarity that reading a list cannot replicate. Many learners find that once they have physically performed each check a few times, the explanation becomes natural rather than something that needs to be recalled under pressure.
Practise explaining the tell me questions out loud, not just reading them silently. Speaking the explanation aloud, ideally to your instructor or a friend who can confirm whether your explanation makes sense, builds the verbal fluency you need under test conditions. Many learners understand a check perfectly well but stumble when asked to explain it clearly in the moment, simply because they have never said the explanation out loud before.
For the show me questions specifically, practise the physical action while driving in low-pressure conditions during your lessons. Demonstrating the operation of the windscreen wipers or the horn while maintaining full driving control is a skill in itself, separate from simply knowing where the control is located. Building this into your normal lesson routine, rather than treating it as a separate revision task, means it becomes second nature by your test date.
At MK City Driving School, our local driving instructors cover the full show me tell me list as a standard part of test preparation, ensuring every learner has practised both the explanation and the physical demonstration before their test day.
Common Mistakes Learners Make With Show Me Tell Me Questions
The most common mistake is simply not preparing at all. Because the show me tell me questions only account for one potential fault each, some learners deprioritise them in favour of focusing entirely on driving skills. This is a mistake because the questions are entirely preventable faults. There is no reason to lose marks on something that is published in advance and requires no driving skill to get right.
The second common mistake is confusing similar checks. Several of the tell me questions involve checks that sound similar but have distinct correct answers, such as the difference between checking tyre tread depth and condition versus checking tyre pressures. Learners who have not specifically practised distinguishing between similar questions sometimes blend their answers incorrectly under test pressure.
The third common mistake involves the show me questions specifically, performing the action without maintaining safe driving standards. If you are asked to demonstrate operating the windscreen wipers and you look down at the controls for an extended period or drift in your lane while doing so, this is recorded as a separate driving fault unrelated to the show me tell me question itself. The skill being assessed includes managing the demonstration without compromising your driving.
Why This Preparation Matters More Than It Seems
It is tempting to view the show me tell me questions as a minor formality compared to the forty minutes of actual driving that follows. In terms of fault weighting, this is technically true. But there is a psychological dimension worth considering that goes beyond the single potential fault.
Starting your test confidently, having answered both vehicle safety questions correctly, sets a calmer tone for the drive that follows. Conversely, getting one or both questions wrong at the very start of your test, before you have even moved the car, can knock your confidence in a way that affects your composure for the early part of the drive. Removing this uncertainty entirely through thorough preparation is one of the simplest and most effective things you can do in the final weeks before your test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What are the show me tell me questions on the UK driving test?
The show me tell me questions are two vehicle safety questions asked at the start of every UK practical driving test. One tell me question asks you to explain how you would carry out a specific safety check, asked before you start driving. One show me question asks you to demonstrate an action while driving safely. Both questions are drawn from a fixed list published by the DVSA at gov.uk/show-me-tell-me-vehicle-safety-questions.
Q: How many show me tell me questions are asked during the driving test?
Two questions are asked, one tell me question before you start driving and one show me question while you are driving. Getting either question wrong results in one driving fault, classified as a minor fault under the standard system, which does not automatically fail your test on its own.
Q: Where can I find the official list of show me tell me questions?
The full official list is published by the DVSA at gov.uk/show-me-tell-me-vehicle-safety-questions. Your driving instructor in Milton Keynes will also cover the complete list during your driving test preparation lessons, including practical demonstrations of each check in your training vehicle.
Q: Do I lose my test automatically if I get a show me tell me question wrong?
No. Getting a show me tell me question wrong is recorded as one minor fault. You can accumulate up to fifteen minor faults across your entire test and still pass. However, because the questions are entirely preparable in advance, there is no good reason to lose this fault through lack of preparation.
Q: How should I prepare for the show me tell me questions before my driving test?
Practise physically performing each check in the vehicle you will use for your test, explain each tell me question out loud rather than just reading it silently, and practise demonstrating each show me question while maintaining safe driving control. At MK City Driving School, this preparation is built into our standard lesson programme.
Q: Are the show me tell me questions different for automatic and manual driving tests?
No. The show me tell me question list is the same regardless of whether you are taking your test in an automatic driving lesson vehicle or a manual one. The vehicle safety checks themselves are not specific to transmission type, though your instructor will adapt the practical demonstration to the specific controls of your training vehicle.
Final Thoughts
The show me tell me questions are one of the most controllable elements of your entire driving test. Every question and every correct answer is published in advance, and the preparation required is straightforward, understand each check genuinely, practise explaining it out loud, and practise demonstrating the physical actions while maintaining your driving standard. There is no reason to lose marks here.
At MK City Driving School, our driving instructors in Milton Keynes make sure every learner has covered the full list thoroughly before their test date. Combined with our standard mock test preparation, this ensures you walk into the Milton Keynes test centre having already secured one of the few entirely predictable parts of your test.
Meet our instructors | View all courses | MK City Driving School home