You are asked exactly two vehicle-safety questions on your driving test: one “tell me” question at the car before you drive, and one “show me” question while you are driving. They come from a fixed, published bank of 14 questions in total, so there are no surprises. Getting one wrong is a single driving fault (a minor) - it will never fail you on its own. This page gives you the whole bank with a short, correct model answer for each.
Because the list is published in advance, these are the most predictable marks on the entire test. Learners who lose them do so by never quite revising, not because the questions are hard.
How they work
- “Tell me” is asked before you drive, at the car, engine off. You explain in words how you would carry out a safety check. You do not have to open the bonnet or physically do it - you just describe it clearly.
- “Show me” is asked while you are driving. You actually demonstrate the action - working a control safely without taking your attention off the road.
You get one of each, chosen by the examiner. That is it. Two questions, one fault at most if both go wrong, and even then you can still pass comfortably.
What’s at stake
Get one wrong and it counts as one driving fault. You are allowed up to 15 of those and still pass, so a single fumbled safety question is nothing on the scoreboard. The real risk is psychological: fluffing the “tell me” at the very start can rattle you before you have even moved off. Knowing your answers cold removes that wobble - which is the whole point of revising them.
Tell me questions (asked before you drive)
| Tell me question | Model answer |
|---|---|
| How would you check the brakes are working before starting a journey? | The brakes should not feel spongy or slack. As you move off, test them at low speed - the car should slow evenly and not pull to one side. |
| Where would you find the recommended tyre pressures, and how would you check them? | In the car’s handbook, and often on a sticker inside the driver’s door frame or fuel flap. Check with a reliable gauge when the tyres are cold, don’t forget the spare, and refit the valve caps. |
| How would you check the power-assisted steering is working before a journey? | If the steering feels heavy, the system may be faulty. Apply gentle pressure to the wheel as you start the engine - it should move slightly as the assistance kicks in - or turn the wheel just after moving off to feel the assistance working. |
| How would you switch on the rear fog light(s), and when would you use them? | Use the fog-light switch (a dashboard symbol); a warning light confirms it is on. Use it only when visibility drops below 100 metres, and switch it off when visibility improves so you do not dazzle the driver behind. |
| How would you set the demister to clear all the windows effectively? | Direct airflow to the windscreen, turn up the fan and temperature, switch on the air-con or heated screen if fitted, and press the heated rear-window button for the back screen. |
| How would you switch your headlights from dipped to main beam, and how would you know main beam is on? | Push or pull the headlight stalk to main beam; a blue warning light on the dashboard tells you main beam is on. |
| How would you make sure your head restraint is correctly adjusted? | The rigid part should be roughly level with the top of your head and as close to the back of your head as is comfortable, to protect your neck in a collision. |
Show me questions (asked while driving)
| Show me question | Model answer |
|---|---|
| Show me how you would wash and clean the front windscreen. | Operate the washer to spray screen wash, then run the wipers to clear the glass. |
| Show me how you would wash and clean the rear windscreen. | Operate the rear washer and wiper control to spray and wipe the back window. |
| Show me how you would switch on your dipped headlights. | Turn the light switch to the dipped-beam position - check the dashboard symbol lights up. |
| Show me how you would set the rear demister. | Press the heated rear-window button; the symbol lights up while it is on. |
| Show me how you would demist the front windscreen. | Direct the airflow to the windscreen and turn up the fan and temperature (and air-con or heated front screen if fitted). |
| Show me how you would operate the horn. | Press the centre of the steering wheel, or the horn control, briefly. |
| Show me how you would open and close the side window. | Use the electric window switch, or the winder, to open and then close the window. |
Common trip-ups
A few answers catch people out year after year:
- The rear fog light. The exact phrase examiners want is “when visibility drops below 100 metres.” “When it’s foggy” is too vague, and forgetting to say you would switch it off again is a common miss.
- The demister. People name one screen and stop. A full answer covers both front and rear, and mentions the fan, temperature, and any heated-screen or air-con button.
- Tyre pressures when cold. Say you would check them “when the tyres are cold” - pressures rise as tyres warm up, so a warm reading is misleading. Also mention the handbook as the source and not forgetting the spare.
- Power-assisted steering. Do not just say “turn the wheel.” Explain that heavy steering signals a fault, and give one of the two checks (pressure on the wheel as the engine starts, or turning just after moving off).
How to actually nail them
Reading the list is not enough. Do two things:
- Do the checks on a real car. Open the bonnet, find the screen-wash bottle, work the demister, locate the fog-light switch, feel where main beam engages. Muscle memory in the car you will test in beats words memorised from a screen - controls sit in different places on different cars.
- Say the answers out loud, in the car. Rehearse them aloud where you will actually be asked them, not silently in your head. Speaking them is what makes them come out smoothly under pressure. A quick run-through before a lesson, once a week, is plenty.
For the wider picture of where these questions fit, see our minute-by-minute walkthrough of test day - the “tell me” comes right after your eyesight check, and the “show me” lands somewhere in the independent driving stretch.
The TOFU angle
We run through the full set with you in the actual car you will take to the test, so the answers are attached to real controls rather than a printed list. That five-minute habit turns 14 questions into something you could recite in your sleep.
And if English is not your first language, this is exactly where the jargon bites - “demister,” “power-assisted steering,” “dipped beam” are not everyday words even for confident English speakers. We teach in English, Cantonese and Mandarin, so we explain what each term means in the language you think in, then rehearse the English words you will actually say to the examiner. When you want to lock these down, get in touch.
Quick answers
How many show me, tell me questions are there? 14 in total - a “tell me” set and a “show me” set. You are asked one of each on the day.
Do show me, tell me questions fail you? No. Each wrong answer is a single driving fault (a minor). You can have up to 15 minors and still pass, so one safety-question slip will not fail you.
When are they asked? The “tell me” is asked at the car before you drive; the “show me” is asked while you are driving.
Can I revise the exact questions? Yes. The bank is published in advance and does not change without notice, so you can learn every question and answer word for word.
What’s the hardest one? Most learners trip on the rear fog light (the “below 100 metres” phrase), the full demister answer, and checking tyre pressures when cold. Nail those three and the rest tend to follow.
These are the easiest marks on the whole test to bank. Learn the list, do the checks in a real car, say the answers out loud, and turn 14 questions into free confidence on the day.