Safe Driving and Defensive Driving: Space, Weather, and Fatigue
What this domain tests
Defensive-driving questions ask you to predict hazards, choose safe gaps, and adapt to weather and fatigue. The exam favours scenarios where the legally correct action still needs a safety margin.
Space and scanning
Use the three-second rule in good conditions; at 100 km/h keep about 100 m. Look far ahead, check mirrors regularly, and keep an escape route. Increase following distance when the vehicle ahead is large or your view is blocked.
Weather and visibility
- Rain: hydroplaning risk rises with speed; ease off the accelerator, avoid sudden braking, and double the gap.
- Fog: use low beams; high beams reflect back and reduce visibility.
- Snow and ice: brake gently, use engine braking, and avoid cruise control.
- Tunnels: switch on headlights and keep a steady speed.
Fatigue and expressways
Drowsiness is more dangerous than many mechanical faults. Plan a rest every two hours, and use rest areas rather than the shoulder. On expressways, merging vehicles must yield to traffic already on the main line, but a defensive driver changes lanes or adjusts speed to help.
Worked example
You are doing 100 km/h on a wet expressway and the car ahead brakes. Your gap is two seconds. The correct response is to release the accelerator, brake progressively, and increase the gap - not to swerve. Wet-road braking distance is longer, and a two-second gap leaves no reserve.
Traps that cost marks
High beams in fog, tailgating to prevent lane cuts, and assuming ABS shortens stopping distance on ice. ABS helps steering, not grip.