Safe riding technique, hazard perception and defensive riding (akstursaðferð og hættumat)
What this domain tests
Whether you ride so that hazards are seen early and never become emergencies: observation, road position, cornering, surface reading and the Icelandic hazards that appear in the question bank.
Core technique
- Look ahead and through - scan far up the road, then mirrors, then a shoulder check (the "lifesaver") before any change of position.
- Cornering - brake and select the gear before the bend, look through to the exit, keep a steady or gently opening throttle through it. Braking hard mid-corner stands the bike up.
- Position - away from the centre line on blind crests and bends, out of other drivers' blind spots, and with an escape route in mind.
- Target fixation - the bike goes where you look. Look at the gap, not at the hazard.
Icelandic hazards
Loose gravel and tar snakes on rural roads; blind crests (blindhæðir); single-lane bridges; sheep grazing loose in summer, which move unpredictably; sudden gusts on the south coast where the road leaves shelter; sand blown across the carriageway; wet painted lines and manhole covers; ice in shaded dips long after the rest of the road has cleared. F-roads in the interior are for four-wheel-drive vehicles only, so they are closed to motorcycles.
Worked example
You are riding a gravel road at 70 km/h and see a flock of sheep just beyond a blind crest. The correct response happens before the crest: reduce speed so you can stop within the distance you can actually see, cover both brakes, and sit the bike up. Grabbing the front brake on loose gravel at that speed puts you down.
Traps
Assuming a car has seen you because you saw it. Braking with the front brake only on gravel. Swerving instead of slowing for animals. Treating the speed limit as a target rather than a maximum for the conditions.