Hazard perception and defensive riding
What the exam tests
This domain tests whether you spot developing hazards early and choose a safe speed, position and escape route. Danish roads mix motorcycles with cyclists, pedestrians, buses, tractors and right-turning heavy vehicles, so the exam rewards scanning and anticipation rather than reaction alone.
Core rules
- Scan far ahead, then middle distance, then near. Check mirrors regularly and turn your head for the blind spot before changing position.
- At junctions, assume another road user may not have seen you. Reduce speed, cover the brakes and place yourself where you are visible.
- A lorry indicating right may swing left before turning. Never ride up its inside; the driver's blind spot can hide a motorcycle.
- Treat parked cars as potential doors and pedestrians emerging between them. Slow early and leave room.
- On rural roads, expect tractors, mud, gravel, animals and shaded patches that hide ice or diesel. Adjust speed before the hazard, not on it.
- In wind, allow for sudden gusts at field openings and when passing high-sided vehicles. Keep a firm but relaxed grip.
- When riding in a group, use staggered formation where safe, keep your own following distance and do not follow the rider ahead blindly into a bend.
Worked example
You approach a junction where a lorry is indicating right and a cyclist is travelling straight ahead on your right. The lorry begins to swing left. You hang back rather than entering the gap on its right, because the driver may turn across the cyclist and your escape space will disappear. You slow, cover the brakes and wait until the lorry's path and the cyclist's path are clear.
Traps
Assuming a driver has seen you because you can see the car; overtaking a queue into a hidden junction; following too closely behind a large vehicle; braking only when the hazard is already beside you; ignoring the cyclist's likely line when a vehicle turns across a cycle path.