Hazard Perception and Risk Awareness
What a hazard actually is
A hazard is anything that may force you to change speed or direction: a car edging out of a driveway, a pedestrian between parked cars, a wet patch, a dog, a pothole, a reversing truck. Hazard perception is not about spotting the obvious obstacle; it is about spotting the potential one early enough to have options. Test items usually reward the earliest safe response.
The scanning habit
Look about 12 seconds ahead and sweep near-to-far, side to side. Check mirrors every few seconds and before every change of speed or position. At intersections - where most motorcycle crashes occur - assume a driver waiting to emerge has not seen you until you have clear eye contact. Keep at least a two-second gap in good conditions and three to four seconds in rain or darkness. Stopping distance rises with the square of your speed, so 60 km/h needs far more than twice the room of 30 km/h.
Reading the road surface
Scan for gravel, oil at intersections, wet paint and steel covers, tram tracks, leaf litter and loose sand on corners. These reduce grip exactly where you need it, so reduce speed before you reach them and avoid braking hard while turning on them.
Traps and a worked example
Multiple-choice items often ask what to do first. The safe answer is nearly always to ease off the throttle and cover the brakes, not to swerve or sound the horn. Worked example: a car ahead is indicating left but its wheels are straight and it is drifting right - treat it as a hazard, slow down, and wait for its actual movement before overtaking.