Hazard Perception and Risk Awareness
Reading the road ahead
Hazard perception is the skill of spotting developing risks early enough to act smoothly. Scan far ahead, to the sides, and into mirrors; use a scanning pattern rather than a fixed stare. Identify 'clues': brake lights, indicator flashes, brake dust, a driver's head movement, children near parked cars, and gaps in traffic where a vehicle could emerge.
The main hazard categories
Fixed hazards (bends, crests, junctions), moving hazards (vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians), and environmental hazards (rain, gravel, ice, low sun). For each, ask: what could happen next, and what is my escape route? On rural Bulgarian roads, expect tractors, animals, and poor surfaces. In towns, expect pedestrians stepping out and doors opening.
Speed and sight distance
Ride so you can stop within the distance you can see to be clear. On a blind crest or bend, that means slowing down. In rain, stopping distances lengthen; in fog, reduce speed so your sight distance exceeds your stopping distance.
Traps in hazard questions
The exam presents a scene where the obvious hazard is not the real one - for example a parked van hiding a pedestrian about to cross. The correct answer is usually to slow and prepare to stop, not to sound the horn and continue. Another trap is treating a green light as 'no hazard': pedestrians may still be clearing the junction.
Worked example
You see a ball roll into the road ahead. The hazard is not the ball but the child who will chase it. Slow immediately and prepare to stop.