Defensive Driving, Hazards and Emergency Procedures
Look far, think ahead
Defensive driving means seeing a hazard before it becomes an emergency. Scan well ahead, check mirrors frequently, and keep out of other drivers' blind spots. Use the two-second rule: when the vehicle ahead passes a fixed object, count 'one thousand and one, one thousand and two'. If you reach the object before you finish, you are too close. Double the gap in rain or darkness.
Guyana's roads demand anticipation: pedestrians stepping out between parked vehicles, minibuses stopping without warning, cyclists and animals, potholes and trench edges, and standing water during the rainy season. Near schools, slow down and expect children.
When it goes wrong
- Skid: ease off the accelerator, do not brake hard, and steer smoothly in the direction the vehicle is sliding.
- Blowout: grip the wheel firmly, keep straight, ease off the accelerator and slow gradually.
- Brake failure: pump the pedal, change down through the gears, then use the handbrake gently.
- Aquaplaning: ease off, hold the wheel steady, and avoid sudden braking.
- Breakdown: move as far off the road as possible, switch on hazard lights, and place a warning triangle behind the vehicle.
Traps
Questions where a driver brakes hard in a skid, or accelerates out of trouble, or fails to reduce speed in rain.
Worked example
Following a truck in heavy rain at 60 km/h, you need at least a four-second gap, not two - wet roads roughly double stopping distance. Rule of thumb: only a fool breaks the two-second rule - and in rain, double it.