Denmark Motorcycle Theory A2 common mistakes
Denmark Motorcycle Theory A2 · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Reading a Danish sign's shape and colour but not its supplementary plate, so a prohibition is applied at the wrong time of day, day of week, or to the wrong vehicle class - for example treating a red-ringed sign with a weekday-and-hours plate as a 24-hour ban.
Candidates drill the main symbol in isolation and treat the small plate below it as decoration; under time pressure the eye locks onto the pictogram and the plate is skipped entirely.
What to do instead
Adopt a fixed scan order for every sign: shape, then colour, then symbol, then any supplementary plate, then road markings. Practise with the specific plate types that change the rule - time windows, vehicle-class exceptions, distance arrows, and zone-end plates - and state the rule aloud including its conditions before answering.
Treating a Danish roundabout as if entering traffic had priority, or signalling left on approach and then failing to signal right before the exit, causing the examiner to mark both a priority error and a signalling error.
Habit transfer from driving in countries or from older test material where the rule differs; the left signal feels logical because the path curves left, and the exit signal is forgotten while attention is on traffic.
What to do instead
Memorise the Danish sequence as a single chain: no left signal on approach unless changing lanes, yield to traffic already circulating, signal right immediately after passing the exit before yours. Rehearse it at three different roundabouts until it is automatic, and verbalise the exit signal out loud during practice rides.
Braking with the front brake only in a straight-line emergency stop, or grabbing it hard enough to lock the front wheel, and separately failing to use both brakes together on gravel or wet painted markings.
Fear of the front wheel tucking makes riders under-use the brake that provides most of the stopping force; in a panic the hand closes faster than the brain modulates, and low-friction surfaces are not practised at all.
What to do instead
Practise progressive squeeze drills in a dry empty area: initial light pressure to load the front tyre, then increasing force, with the rear brake applied lightly and earlier. Repeat on gravel and on wet paint at low speed to feel the limit. Learn to recognise front-wheel lock (handlebar judder, squeal) and release-then-reapply rather than holding.
Entering a bend too fast and then braking mid-corner, or fixing the gaze on the road edge or on the oncoming vehicle instead of the exit of the curve.
Speed is judged at the point of turn-in rather than planned earlier; target fixation is a natural response to perceived threat and the motorcycle follows the eyes.
What to do instead
Set speed before turn-in using the limit-point method - if the limit point approaches, slow; if it recedes, the speed is safe. Turn the head to look through the corner to the exit and keep the eyes there. Practise the same corner repeatedly at deliberately low speed to build the habit of finishing braking before the lean.
Riding in the door zone or in a lorry's blind spot alongside the cab, and sitting beside a heavy vehicle at a junction instead of behind it or clear of it.
Riders position for their own forward view and forget that the danger is lateral and behind; the size of a lorry's blind area is underestimated and the mirror view from the cab is assumed to include the rider.
What to do instead
Apply a standing rule: never ride within a door's width of parked cars, and never sit alongside a heavy vehicle - either drop back so the driver can see you in the mirror or pass completely. At junctions, position where you can see the driver's mirror and the driver can see you, and assume a right-turning lorry has not seen you.
Wearing a helmet that is not fastened or is fastened with the strap loose, riding in ordinary jeans and trainers, or removing gloves in warm weather.
Comfort and short-trip thinking dominate; the legal minimum is confused with the safety minimum, and the abrasion resistance of denim is assumed to be adequate.
What to do instead
Fasten the strap so the helmet cannot be rolled off the head, and check it before every ride. Treat gloves, jacket with armour, riding trousers and boots as non-negotiable, not weather-dependent. Learn the practical test for protective clothing - abrasion resistance, impact protection at shoulders, elbows, hips and knees, and coverage of skin - and apply it to every garment.
Ignoring tyre condition beyond tread depth - riding on tyres that are squared off, over- or under-inflated, or more than the permitted age - and checking pressure only at service intervals.
Tyre pressure is invisible in daily use and the legal tread minimum is treated as the whole story; the effect of pressure on braking distance and cornering is not connected to the check.
What to do instead
Check pressures cold at least weekly and before any long ride, using the manufacturer's figures for solo and loaded riding. Inspect tread, sidewalls and wear pattern each time, and replace tyres that are squared, cracked or past the age limit regardless of tread. Note that a squared rear tyre changes turn-in behaviour and must be accounted for in the riding plan.
Riding after a single beer or after a night's sleep following heavy drinking, and taking medicine without checking whether it affects driving, on the assumption that only illegal drugs matter.
The effect of low blood alcohol on reaction time and risk-taking is underestimated, alcohol elimination rates are guessed, and package leaflets are not read because the medicine is prescribed or familiar.
What to do instead
Adopt a zero-alcohol rule for riding and treat 'morning after' as a real risk - allow generous time and do not ride if in any doubt. Read the leaflet for every medicine, including over-the-counter cold, allergy and pain products, and ask a pharmacist specifically about driving. If a medicine causes drowsiness, do not ride until the effect is known.
Following at a gap measured in metres rather than seconds, and failing to add the reaction distance to the braking distance when judging whether a stop is possible.
The two-second rule is memorised as a phrase but not applied, and stopping distance is thought of as braking distance only, so wet roads and worn tyres are not factored in.
What to do instead
Use the count method on a fixed roadside object and hold at least two seconds in dry conditions, doubling in rain and more in poor visibility. Separate the components explicitly: reaction distance grows with speed and with fatigue, braking distance grows with the square of speed, and total stopping distance is the sum. Recalculate for a wet road before every ride in rain.
At a crash scene, moving an injured motorcyclist, removing the helmet, or leaving the scene to find help without securing the site and marking the position.
Panic and the wish to help produce action without assessment; the helmet removal feels helpful and the risk of spinal injury is not considered; the legal duty to secure and remain is not connected to the situation.
What to do instead
Learn the fixed order: stop and secure the site, warn traffic, call emergency services with a precise location, then give first aid within your training. Do not remove a helmet unless the airway is obstructed and you have been trained to do it with two people. Stay at the scene until released, exchange details, and record the position of vehicles and any marks before they are disturbed.