Safe Driving and Defensive Driving
This domain tests observation, anticipation and vehicle control in Mauritian conditions: left-hand traffic, busy market towns, scooters filtering, sugar-cane lorries, potholes and sudden tropical rain.
Core habits
- Keep left, overtake on the right, and only when you can see the road is clear for the whole manoeuvre.
- Use the two-second rule in dry weather; double it in rain or at night.
- At roundabouts, give way to traffic already on the roundabout approaching from your right.
- Look far ahead, scan mirrors every few seconds, and cover the brake near schools, markets, bus stops and roadside stalls.
- Reduce speed before a hazard, not during it; brake and steer smoothly so passengers are not thrown.
Conditions
- First rain after a dry spell lifts oil and dust - grip drops sharply. Slow early and increase the gap.
- Mud and cane debris near sugar-cane loading points can cause a skid; cross such patches slowly and in a straight line.
- At night, dip headlights for oncoming traffic and never overdrive your lights.
- Fatigue is a defect: stop and rest rather than push through.
Worked example
A slow cane lorry ahead on a two-lane road, with a bend 60 m away and a scooter behind you.
Reasoning: the bend hides oncoming traffic, so the overtaking distance cannot be guaranteed; the scooter may also pull out to overtake you. Hold back, keep a safe gap, and overtake only on a clear straight with a broken line. Being delayed two minutes is cheaper than a head-on collision.
Traps that cost marks
- Overtaking on a bend or on a continuous line "because the road looked clear".
- Tailgating to hurry a slow vehicle.
- Assuming right of way instead of giving way to avoid a crash.
- Driving too fast for wet roads on the first rain.