Seeing Hazards
What the exam tests
Hazard recognition, clues, and early response before a hazard becomes an emergency.
Core rules
- Scan continuously and ask "What if?" - what if that car pulls out, what if that child runs?
- Look for clues: brake lights, turn signals, front wheels turning, drivers looking over their shoulders, parked cars with people inside, balls rolling into the street.
- School-bus hazards include children near the road, stopped school buses, parents dropping off students, and bicycles.
- Identify hazards early and decide on an escape route before you need it.
- Slow down and cover the brake when a hazard is developing.
- Construction zones, intersections, and parking lots concentrate hazards.
- Hazards can be stationary, such as a blind driveway, or moving, such as a cyclist.
Worked example
You approach a line of parked cars and see a ball roll between two of them. You slow down, cover the brake, and move left if safe. Reasoning: a ball is a clue that a child may follow; the driver who waits for the child to appear has too little time to stop.
Traps that cost marks
Watching only the vehicle ahead; ignoring parked cars; assuming a pedestrian sees you; failing to adjust speed when a hazard is forming.