Driving technique and behaviour in traffic: observation, anticipation, hazard perception
This domain tests how you look, plan and react rather than what you can recite. The examiner wants to see a systematic scanning technique, correct use of mirrors and a driving plan that leaves room for other people's mistakes.
Observation technique
- Look 12–15 seconds ahead, not at the bonnet. In a truck the cab sits high, so you see far but the near field is blind.
- Mirror cycle every 5–8 seconds and before every change of speed or direction: main mirrors, wide-angle, front blind-spot mirror and, where fitted, the kerb mirror on the passenger side.
- The right-turn blind spot is the classic fatal zone: a cyclist or pedestrian travelling alongside is invisible in the mirrors. Before turning right, check the mirror, the blind-spot mirror and the side window, and slow enough that a vulnerable road user cannot arrive unnoticed.
Anticipation and hazard perception
Read the situation three steps ahead: what the vehicle in front will do, what the junction allows, what the road surface and weather will demand. Typical hazards for a truck: a green light that has been green a long time; a bus indicating at a stop; a child near a parked van; a slip road merging with a car that has not seen you; a level crossing; a low bridge marked by a height sign.
Use engine braking and planning instead of late braking. Keep a three-second gap at 80 km/h minimum, more in rain or when loaded. When reversing, use a banksman if visibility is incomplete - a 40 t vehicle kills silently at walking pace.
Worked example
You approach a green light at 50 km/h with a pedestrian standing at the crossing on the far side, and a car close behind you. Reasoning: the light has been green for a while, so treat the change as probable; check the mirror first so a controlled stop does not cause a rear-end collision; ease off early to arrive at the light rather than braking hard at it; watch the pedestrian's feet, not their head. The correct answer is a planned, gentle deceleration - not continuing at 50 and braking at the last moment.
Traps
Treating a green light as an unconditional right to proceed; relying on mirrors alone without turning your head where the blind-spot mirror cannot help; following a truck at two seconds; overtaking on the approach to a junction or crossing; using the horn instead of reducing speed.