Hazard Perception and Defensive Driving
Reading the road ahead
Hazard perception is the skill of spotting a developing risk before it becomes an emergency. Scan far ahead - roughly 12 seconds of travel - and keep the middle distance and the area near the truck in your peripheral view. In a Category C vehicle, the high cab improves forward visibility but creates large blind spots close to the vehicle, especially on the right and directly behind. Mirrors must be checked in sequence before any lane change or turn.
Common hazard patterns
- Pedestrians near crossings and parked vehicles: a person may step out from between cars; slow and cover the brake.
- Junctions: a vehicle waiting at a side road may pull out; watch its wheels, not just the body.
- Cyclists and motorcyclists: they are hard to see and may swerve for potholes; give them room.
- Heavy vehicles: a truck ahead may hide a queue; do not overtake on trust.
- Weather and light: rain, fog, low sun and ice all lengthen stopping distance; reduce speed before the hazard, not at it.
- Own vehicle: a heavy load shifts the centre of gravity and lengthens braking; plan earlier.
Defensive technique
Use the system of observation: look, decide, act, and always keep an escape route. Assume other drivers have not seen you - a truck's size does not guarantee being noticed. In fog, use dipped headlights and fog lights where fitted, and increase the gap.
Worked example
You approach a row of parked cars on a wet road and see a ball roll into the road. The ball predicts a child. Ease off, cover the brake, reduce speed to a crawl, and be ready to stop - the correct answer is never "maintain speed and sound the horn".
Traps
Questions often present a hazard that is visible but not yet dangerous; the correct response is early anticipation, not a late emergency action.