Safe Driving and Defensive Driving Techniques
What the exam tests
This domain tests the system of observation and control you use in traffic: following distance, mirror use, junction priority, blind spots, and planning for other road users' mistakes.
Core rules
- Use the mirror–signal–manoeuvre routine and check blind spots before lane changes.
- Keep at least a two-second gap in good, dry conditions; increase to three or four seconds in rain, dust, darkness or when following a heavy vehicle.
- Look 12–15 seconds ahead and keep an escape route. Cover the brake when a hazard is developing.
- At roundabouts and junctions, give way as signed and marked; do not assume another driver has seen you.
- Overtake on the left, only when the road is clear, the line permits it and you can complete the move without forcing others to brake.
- In dust or low visibility, reduce speed and use low beam, not high beam.
Worked example
You are following a loaded truck at 80 km/h on a dusty highway. The truck's brake lights are partly obscured. A two-second gap is not enough because your view and stopping distance are compromised. Use at least four seconds, drop speed, and prepare to stop if the truck brakes suddenly. Reason: the gap must cover reaction time plus the extra stopping distance created by reduced visibility and a heavy vehicle's blind spots.
Traps
Tailgating to prevent a car cutting in; overtaking on the right; moving off without a shoulder check; assuming a signal gives you priority; using high beam in dust, which reflects back and worsens vision.