Safe driving behaviour and hazard perception
What this domain tests
Hazard perception is about seeing risk early and making a plan before you must react. The exam tests scanning, following distance, speed choice, distraction, fatigue, night and wet-weather driving, and how you respond to pedestrians, motorcycles and hidden junctions.
Core rules
- Scan far ahead - aim to read the road 12–15 seconds in front - and keep your eyes moving between mirrors, instruments and the road.
- Use at least a two-second following gap in good conditions; double it in rain, at night or behind a large vehicle that blocks your view.
- Never overdrive your headlights or your visibility. If you cannot stop within the distance you can see to be clear, you are too fast.
- Treat parked cars, bus stops, school gates and blind corners as places where a pedestrian or child may appear.
- Fatigue and phone use slow reaction time. Stop for rest; do not use a handheld phone while driving.
Worked example
You are following a bus in heavy rain. The bus brakes suddenly and you need more distance than expected. Your correct response is not to tailgate closer for guidance; drop back to at least four seconds, reduce speed, and look for a gap or side road rather than overtaking blindly. The bus blocks your view of pedestrians who may step out in front of it.
Traps
- Fixating on the vehicle ahead and missing the child near the kerb.
- Thinking a two-second gap is enough in rain.
- Overtaking a bus that has stopped at a crossing.
- Driving when tired because the journey is short.
- Assuming a motorcyclist will stay in one lane.