South Australian VORT Test Guide and Preparation

Important: Happy Driving School provides lessons and VORT preparation. The VORT assessment itself is booked with an authorised examiner and is charged separately.

Five slow-speed manoeuvres: 10 marks. Each correctly completed manoeuvre scores 2 marks.

General Drive: up to 90 marks. This assesses lane changes, turns on and from busy roads, traffic lights, roundabouts, stop and give-way signs, interaction with other road users and the System of Car Control.

Pass requirement: the combined score must be 90 or more, and no road law may be breached during the drive. A road-law breach results in an Immediate Fail and the test is terminated.

Check the official South Australian VORT information.

The official VORT Recording Sheet lists six Immediate Fail Items. These notes explain what each item means, common test examples and how to avoid it.

1. Disobeys traffic lights, signs or road markings

Traffic lights: at a red light, stop behind the stop line and as near as practicable to it. The vehicle must remain completely stopped until a signal permits movement. A green light allows you to proceed only when the movement is legal and the intersection or road beyond is clear. Do not enter a blocked intersection, even on green. A yellow light warns that red is coming: stop if you can do so safely; continue only when you are too close to stop safely without entering the intersection or creating a rear-end risk.

Stop signs: the vehicle must come to a complete stop at the stop line, or before entering the intersection where there is no line. The law does not prescribe a two-second stop; however, pausing for about two seconds is a useful training method to make the complete stop clear. If buildings, parked vehicles or vegetation block the view, stop first, then move forward slowly to a position where you can observe safely.

Signs and road markings: obey lane arrows, solid lines, painted islands, No Stopping, No Parking, bus-zone and bicycle-lane restrictions. When the examiner asks you to choose a safe place for a kerb stop or manoeuvre, you are responsible for selecting a legal location.

Common illegal stopping and parking locations

• Within 20 metres of an intersection controlled by traffic lights.
• Within 10 metres of an intersection without traffic lights, subject to the continuing-road exception at some T-intersections.
• On a pedestrian crossing, or within 20 metres before and 10 metres after it.
• On or across a footpath, driveway access, traffic island or dividing strip unless a sign specifically permits it.
• In an operating bus lane, bicycle lane, bus zone or other signed restricted area.
• Facing the wrong direction when parallel parked, outside a marked bay, or so close to another vehicle that the required clearance is not available.

Happy Driving teaching observation: in our internal notes since 2017, running a red light has been relatively uncommon. Hesitation and delayed decisions at yellow or green lights have appeared more often. This is an internal teaching observation, not a South Australian Government statistic.

2. Fails to give way

Giving way means allowing the road user with priority to continue without being forced to change speed or direction. If the other road user is stopped, you remain stopped until it is safe; otherwise, slow down and stop if necessary to avoid conflict.

• Bus leaving the kerb: in a built-up area, give way to a bus displaying the Give Way to Buses sign when it signals to move out. The separate five-second signal rule applies when your own vehicle moves off from the kerb.
• Turning right: give way to oncoming vehicles, including vehicles turning left, unless another signal or rule clearly changes priority.
• T-intersections: traffic on the terminating road gives way to vehicles and relevant pedestrians on the continuing road.
• Moving off or completing manoeuvres: before moving from the kerb, a parallel park or a three-point turn, check all around and give way to traffic, bicycle riders and pedestrians.
• Roundabouts: give way to vehicles already on the roundabout.
• Changing lanes: signal, check mirrors and blind spot, and give way to vehicles already in the lane you intend to enter.

Common causes include concentrating too heavily on the manoeuvre sequence, misjudging the speed of an approaching vehicle, or failing to detect dark, white, silver or grey vehicles in glare.

3. Drives dangerously or without due care, attention or consideration

This broad item covers behaviour that creates danger or shows insufficient care for other road users. The seriousness, duration and surrounding risk matter.

• Selecting the wrong gear during moving off, a three-point turn or reverse parking. If you recognise and correct it safely before intervention, it may be recorded as a fault rather than an Immediate Fail; continuing into danger can lead to intervention.
• Entering the wrong side of the road after a turn, or failing to return left after overtaking.
• Mounting the kerb. Merely touching the kerb may be a control fault; a wheel riding onto the kerb is much more serious.
• Driving abnormally slowly without a valid reason and obstructing other traffic. Narrow roads, hazards and restricted visibility may justify a lower speed.
• Continuously resting the left foot on the brake in an automatic vehicle so the brake lights remain displayed.
• Following another vehicle with less than a three-second safety margin, or failing to leave safe clearance from vehicles, bicycle riders, pedestrians, parked cars or fixed objects.
• Failing to signal, leaving a signal on after the movement, not wearing a seat belt, using a mobile phone during the test, or failing to keep left when required.

Happy Driving teaching observation: signalling mistakes are among the most frequent serious faults in our internal student records. This is school teaching data, not a statewide government statistic.

4. Exceeds the speed limit

The applicable speed limit may come from a posted sign, a school or roadwork zone, a general default limit or a licence condition. A learner or provisional driver must not exceed 100 km/h even where a higher limit is signed. The limit is a maximum, not a target; reduce speed further for weather, visibility, traffic or hazards.

• Check the speed after every turn, roundabout exit and change of road.
• Do not accelerate before reaching a higher-speed sign.
• Be at or below the new limit when entering a lower-speed area.
• Control speed on downhill sections rather than allowing it to creep over the limit.
• Read the actual school-zone and temporary signs; do not rely only on memory.

There is no VORT “tolerance” that a learner should aim to use. Any road-law breach can terminate the test.

5. The examiner intervenes

An examiner must record an Immediate Fail when the applicant creates a public-safety risk that requires intervention. Intervention may be physical, such as using the dual brake or assisting with steering, or an urgent instruction needed to prevent danger.

• Attempting to enter an unsafe gap.
• Failing to slow for a vehicle, pedestrian, bicycle rider or fixed hazard.
• Moving toward the wrong side of the road or an unsafe lane.
• Losing control during a low-speed manoeuvre and continuing toward danger.
• Failing to recognise an imminent collision risk.

If you are uncertain, control the vehicle first. Slow down or stop safely, observe again and continue only when safe. Missing a turn is preferable to making a sudden or illegal movement.

6. Fails to comply with a reasonable direction

The examiner gives route directions and requests the required manoeuvres but does not coach you during the test. A reasonable direction must be lawful and connected with the assessment.

• Listen for route and manoeuvre instructions and act in good time.
• If you did not hear or understand, ask politely: “Could you please repeat the direction?” or “Do you mean the next street?”
• Do not deliberately ignore a clear repeated instruction or refuse a required manoeuvre.
• Never make an unsafe or illegal movement merely to follow a late instruction. Continue safely and allow the examiner to redirect you.

The public material does not prescribe a fixed number of missed directions before item 6 applies; the circumstances and whether the direction was reasonable are important.

Remember: when an Immediate Fail is recorded, the examiner stops the assessment and returns to the starting point. Read the current South Australian Driver’s Handbook.

Current position: the existing VORT and CBT&A arrangements remain in place until the reform begins.

Expected change: the new practical driving test is expected to begin in the first half of 2027 and will be conducted by government examiners.

Check the latest DIT reform information before booking.