Driver conduct, courtesy and hazard perception
This domain tests judgement rather than knowledge: how you scan, how much space you leave, when you refuse to overtake and how you behave towards people who make mistakes. Examiners reward anticipation and calm, and penalise aggression, hesitation and surprise.
Scanning and space
Look far ahead - twelve to fifteen seconds of travel - and check the mirrors every few seconds. Keep at least a two-second gap to the vehicle in front, doubled in rain or on gravel. If someone fills your gap, ease off and rebuild it. Drop back further behind lorries and buses, which hide the road ahead. Before any manoeuvre: mirror, signal, blind spot, then move.
Overtaking
Overtake only where permitted, with clear visibility and room to return. Never on a bend, a crest, a crossing, at a junction, or where a continuous line is on your side. Never overtake a vehicle stopped at a pedestrian crossing. Do not race someone already overtaking you.
Courtesy and pressure
The horn warns of danger; it is not a way to hurry pedestrians or express annoyance, and in towns and at night it should be used sparingly. Do not tailgate, flash aggressively or retaliate against a rude driver - the collision risk lands on you. Give way to emergency vehicles using lights and sirens, let buses pull out where that is the practice, and be patient with learners, cyclists and the elderly.
Worked example
A lorry ahead blocks your view on a winding road and you can see only 50 metres of clear tarmac. Overtaking is refused; instead you drop back to three seconds, which lets you see past the lorry and protects you if it brakes suddenly. Slow, safe and legal beats a blind gamble.
Traps that cost marks
Following too closely to keep position; overtaking on a crest because the road looks empty; using the horn to move pedestrians off a crossing; letting a rude driver provoke you into a race.