Safe Driving Techniques and Hazard Perception
What this domain tests
This domain tests whether you spot a developing hazard early and adjust speed and position before it becomes an emergency - the heart of the K53 system of vehicle control.
Seeing ahead
Aim your vision about 12 seconds ahead of the vehicle and use the limit point on a bend: while the road ahead is still curving away, your speed is too high. Scan the mirrors every 5–8 seconds and shoulder-check the blind spot before any lane change.
The system of vehicle control
Mirrors, signal, brake, gear, observe, move off - in that order, every time. Brake in a straight line before the bend, select the gear you will need on the way out, and only then turn.
Space and escape
Leave a two-second gap, and three or more when loaded or in rain. Always keep an escape route - a gap to the left or a shoulder you could use. When overtaking, confirm the road is clear, signal, move out, accelerate decisively, and do not return until the overtaken vehicle appears in your mirror.
Worked example
On a blind rise you see brake lights ahead and a solid centre line. Reasoning: you cannot see beyond the crest, so overtaking is both illegal and unsafe, and the vehicle ahead may be stopping for a hazard you cannot see. Action: ease off, increase the gap, cover the brake and prepare to stop.
Traps
Fixating on the vehicle in front instead of the road beyond it; braking mid-corner; moving off without a blind-spot check; assuming a hazard has cleared because the first vehicle got past it.