Traffic psychology, hazard perception and risk awareness
Traffic psychology, hazard perception and risk awareness tests whether you can predict what other road users will do before they do it, and whether you understand why riders aged 15 to 17 crash more per kilometre than any other group.
Core concepts
- Scanning: look far (12–15 seconds ahead), then mid, then near. Practise a running commentary of what might happen.
- Hazards are not only moving vehicles: occupied parked cars, driveways, side roads, brake lights two cars ahead, a pedestrian's body language at the kerb.
- 'Looked but failed to see': drivers' attention filters out small, narrow, single-headlight objects. Be conspicuous - dipped light, bright clothing, a position that puts you in mirrors.
- Risk factors for young riders: inexperience, overconfidence after a few months, sensation-seeking, peer pressure to ride fast, phone use, alcohol and drugs, fatigue.
- Zero alcohol applies in Croatia to drivers under 24; even small amounts degrade balance and hazard detection.
- Target fixation: you ride where you look, so look at the gap, not the obstacle.
Worked example
Stopping distance at 45 km/h (12.5 m/s): one second of reaction is 12.5 m; braking at 5 m/s² adds about 15.6 m - roughly 28 m dry. In rain, grip drops and braking needs about 26 m, so around 39 m in total. That is why you keep 2 seconds dry and 4 wet, and why near a school you slow to 30 km/h and cover the brakes instead of trusting the horn.
Traps that cost marks
Believing 45 km/h is 'slow enough', assuming eye contact means you were seen, staring at the obstacle you want to avoid, and treating a red light as safe phone time.