Danger awareness and hazard perception
Hazard perception questions do not ask what you can do; they ask what you must expect. German practice is built on defensive riding: assume you are invisible and that the worst case is about to happen. An A2 machine (max 35 kW, max 0.2 kW/kg) is light enough that gravel, a gust of crosswind or a painted line genuinely changes your line, so the exam rewards early recognition over late reaction.
Systematic scanning
- Look far ahead (roughly 12 seconds of travel), then work back towards the front wheel.
- Sweep side roads, driveways, gaps between parked cars, and shop windows for reflections of traffic you cannot see directly.
- Mirror and shoulder check before every change of speed, position or lane.
- Keep the eyes moving. A fixed stare on one hazard (target fixation) hides everything else.
Recurring hazards in the exam
- Wildwechsel: deer are most active at dawn and dusk. The sign warns of a stretch, not a single point; where one deer crosses, others follow. Slow down, do not sound the horn.
- Wet leaves, mud dragged out of field entrances, diesel at filling stations, tar seams, tram rails and markings all cut grip, especially at lean.
- A parked car with someone inside, a ball rolling out, or a brake light flicking on means a door or a child.
- Tractors, buses and lorries hide oncoming traffic and create spray and turbulence.
Worked example
You ride a country road at 80 km/h past a Wildwechsel sign as the light fades. Reaction path: 80/10 × 3 = 24 m. Braking path on dry asphalt: (80/10)² = 64 m. Stopping path 88 m - far beyond the 60 m you can actually see. So the correct answer is not "brake when the deer appears": it is reduce to about 60 km/h at the sign (18 + 36 = 54 m), cover the brakes and stay off the crown of the road.
Traps that cost marks
- Reading a warning sign as "one hazard here" rather than "hazardous stretch from here".
- Grabbing the front brake on a wet line or mid-bend: straighten first, then brake progressively.
- Trusting an indicator, or sitting in a lorry's blind spot.
- Watching the hazard instead of the escape route.