Right at the start of your practical driving test, before you turn a wheel, the examiner asks you one "tell me" question. You don't touch anything: you simply explain, out loud, how you would carry out a safety check on the car. Then, once you're driving, they slip in one "show me" question and ask you to actually demonstrate a check while you keep control of the vehicle. Together these are known as the "show me, tell me" questions, and they're some of the easiest marks on the whole test to secure.
The whole point is to prove you understand how to keep a car roadworthy: checking the oil, the tyres, the lights and the brakes rather than just knowing where the pedals are. The questions are drawn from a short, published list, so there are no nasty surprises. Every possible question is something you can learn in an afternoon and rehearse in a driveway.
Here's the reassuring part. Getting one or even both of them wrong records just a single driving fault: a minor. It cannot fail your test on its own. That said, minors add up, and there's no reason to gift the examiner one when the answers are so learnable. Treat this guide as your cheat sheet for turning two potential wobbles into two calm, confident wins.
Study time
27 min
Level
Core
Confidence
+10%
Practice
16 Qs
What you'll be able to do
- Understand a quick routine to check your car is safe before you drive — and an easy way to remember it.
- Understand how to tell if your tyres and brakes are safe — including a coin trick anyone can do.
- Understand what your warning lights mean by their colour — and how smooth driving saves your car and your fuel.
The facts that matter
- You get exactly two questions per test: one "tell me" (explained) before you drive, and one "show me" (demonstrated) while driving.
- Answering either one incorrectly is a single driving fault (a minor) and cannot fail you by itself.
- The "tell me" is asked at the roadside before you set off; you describe the check without doing anything.
- The "show me" is asked on the move; you operate a control, such as the demister or headlights, while staying safely in control.
- Questions cover oil, coolant, brake fluid, screen wash, tyres, brakes, lights, indicators, horn, demisters and power steering.
- The legal minimum tyre tread depth is 1.6 mm across the central three-quarters of the tyre and all the way around it.
Make it stick
Memory anchors
Tell before, show during
Anchor the order to when it happens. "Tell me" comes before you drive, so it's talk only, hands off. "Show me" comes during the drive, so it's hands on, doing it for real. If you can remember tell-then-drive-then-show, you'll never be caught out by what the examiner expects from you.
The FLOWER checklist
Group the common checks into FLOWER: Fluids (oil, coolant, brake fluid, screen wash), Lights (head, tail, brake, fog), Oil dipstick, Wheels and tyres, Electrics (indicators, hazards, horn), and Rubber demist. It's a loose mnemonic, but running through FLOWER in your head guarantees you've revised every family of question at least once.
Stay sharp
The mistakes everyone makes
Trying to do the "tell me" instead of describing it
Learners sometimes pop the bonnet or reach for the controls during the "tell me" question. You don't need to. This one is purely spoken. The examiner wants to hear you describe the steps, so keep your hands still and talk them through it clearly. Save the doing for the "show me" later.
Losing focus on the road during the "show me"
The "show me" is asked while you're driving, and the check itself is the easy bit. The trap is fumbling with a switch and drifting, braking oddly or missing a hazard. Operating a control matters far less than keeping the car safe, so glance, find it, flick it, and put your attention straight back on the road.
Guessing the tyre tread figure
This is the fact people most often muddle. The legal minimum is 1.6 mm, measured across the central three-quarters of the tread and continuously around the whole tyre. Saying "about 2 mm" or "1 mm" loses you the mark. Learn the exact number and the phrase "central three-quarters" so you can quote it without hesitating.
Out on the road
What this looks like in real life
The roadside "tell me": engine oil
The examiner asks how you'd check the engine oil level before your driving test even begins. You calmly explain that you'd find the dipstick, pull it out and wipe it clean, reinsert it fully, then withdraw it again to read the level. The oil film should sit between the minimum and maximum marks. You've said all of this without opening the bonnet, and that's exactly right. It's one of the most common "tell me" questions and one of the simplest to rehearse at home.
The moving "show me": clearing a misty windscreen
Ten minutes into your drive the examiner says, "Show me how you'd demist the front windscreen." You keep both hands ready, take a quick look to locate the controls, and switch on the airflow to the screen, selecting the heated element or air-con if the car has one. The action takes two seconds; the skill is doing it without swerving or slowing awkwardly. You confirm it's working, then return your full focus to the road and carry on driving smoothly.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
Can show me, tell me questions fail my test?
No, not on their own. Getting one or both wrong records a single driving fault, a minor. You're allowed up to fifteen minors and still pass, so a slip here won't sink you. It only becomes a problem if you rack up other faults too, which is why it's worth banking these easy marks.
How many questions will I be asked?
Two in total. One "tell me" question at the roadside before you drive, where you describe a safety check, and one "show me" question while you're driving, where you demonstrate a check. You won't be asked more than one of each, so there's a finite, learnable set to prepare.
Do I have to open the bonnet during the test?
Not usually. The "tell me" question is answered by describing the check out loud, so you can explain how you'd inspect the oil or coolant without touching anything. Some checks reference under-bonnet components, but you're talking the examiner through it rather than physically doing it at that moment.
Where can I find the full list of questions?
The complete set is published by the DVSA and is short enough to learn in a single study session. Practise saying the answers aloud and physically finding every control in the car you'll test in, since cars vary. LicenceOS drills the whole list so the wording becomes second nature well before test day.
Turn show me tell me questions into marks
Reading builds understanding — practice makes it stick. Pick up where this guide leaves off, free.
Revision checklist
0/6Tick each point once you can explain it without looking.