Safe and Defensive Driving: Hazard Perception and Accident Avoidance
This domain tests whether you see trouble before it arrives. Questions present a road scene in words - a matatu slowing without indicating, a boda boda weaving, livestock on a murram road - and ask for the safest response. The examiner wants evidence of systematic scanning, not bravery.
The routine
Use mirror – signal – manoeuvre for every change of speed or position, and the wider IPSGA cycle: Information, Position, Speed, Gear, Acceleration. Look far ahead, sweep the mirrors every few seconds, and check the blind spot before moving laterally.
Following distance
Apply the two-second rule in dry weather and at least three to four seconds in rain, at night or behind a heavily loaded vehicle. Stopping distance rises with the square of speed: doubling speed roughly quadruples the distance needed to stop.
Reading hazards early
Clues matter more than reactions: brake lights two cars ahead, a parked car with an occupant, a school gate, a pothole that will push traffic into your lane, a matatu slowing near a stage. On unlit rural roads, dip headlights for oncoming traffic and watch for pedestrians and livestock at the verge.
Worked example
A matatu 30 metres ahead slows near a stage without signalling. You ease off the accelerator, check the mirror, reduce speed and hold a position that leaves an escape route to the right. You do not overtake, because passengers may step out into your path, and you do not tailgate in case the driver brakes hard.
Traps
Fixating on one hazard and missing the second; assuming a signal means the driver will act; tailgating to “save time”; and overdriving headlights at night so you cannot stop within the distance lit.