Safe Riding Technique and Defensive Riding
Defensive riding is the largest block of KPP01 items, because it is the only domain that keeps a rider alive after the test. The exam checks whether you can state a safe gap, justify a lane position, and explain why a hazard was avoidable.
Core rules
- Following distance: at least two seconds behind the vehicle ahead, doubled to four in rain or at night. Pick a fixed object, count as the vehicle passes it, and you should not reach it before the count ends.
- Keep left and ride in the centre of your lane rather than hugging the kerb, which invites drivers to squeeze past.
- Visibility: headlight on, bright helmet and jacket. If you cannot see a lorry driver's mirror, that driver cannot see you.
- Cover the brakes with two fingers when approaching junctions, parked cars and side roads.
- Overtake only when the view is clear, the lines allow it, and you can finish the move without forcing anyone to brake. Never overtake on a bend, a crest, a junction or a zebra crossing.
- Treat a signal as a hint, not a promise. Wait until the wheels actually turn.
Worked example
You ride at 72 km/h, which is 20 metres per second. A two-second gap is therefore 40 metres. In heavy rain you double it to 80 metres - roughly sixteen car lengths - because wet brakes and reduced grip lengthen stopping distance.
Traps that cost marks
- Counting "one thousand and one" faster than a real second, so the gap is far too small.
- Tailgating a lorry to use it as a windbreak, losing all forward vision.
- Sitting alongside a car's rear quarter, exactly where the driver's mirror check never looks.