Defensive Driving and Hazard Perception (防御性驾驶与危险预判)
This domain tests whether you can read a scene before it becomes an emergency. The exam rewards the driver who has already slowed down, built a gap and chosen an escape route, not the one who reacts perfectly at the last moment.
The method
Scan 12–15 seconds ahead, check the mirrors every 5–8 seconds, and keep a three-second gap in good conditions, doubling it in rain or at night. On the expressway keep 100 m at 100 km/h and at least 50 m below that. Always know where you would go if the car in front stopped dead.
Specific hazards
- Parked cars: a door opening, a pedestrian stepping out between them.
- A stopped bus: passengers crossing in front of it, hidden from you and from them.
- Children and balls near schools and housing estates: expect the second child after the first.
- Large vehicles: a wide turning path (内轮差) and long blind spots - never linger alongside.
- Junctions with blocked sight lines: cover the brake and reduce speed before the line, not at it.
- Rain: aquaplaning risk rises with worn tyres and speed; ease off the accelerator and avoid sudden steering.
- Fog: fog lamps, low speed, no tailgating, stop only on the hard shoulder if you must.
- Fatigue: break every four hours for at least 20 minutes.
Worked example
A bus is stopped at a stop on your side with hazard lights on, and you see feet under its rear bumper. Correct response: slow down, cover the brake, move left if it is clear, and be ready to stop. Reasoning: the hidden pedestrian cannot see you and will step out; the speed reduction must happen now, because reaction time plus stopping distance cannot be recovered at the moment they appear.
Traps
- Choosing sound the horn and keep speed for pedestrians.
- Assuming the three-second gap is enough in rain.
- Overtaking a vehicle stopped at a pedestrian crossing.
- Believing a clear road means you can relax your scanning.