Safe Driving Practices and Defensive Driving
Defensive driving questions test judgement rather than recall: what you should have seen, and what you should have done earlier. The exam presents a developing scene and asks for the safest response.
The routines examiners expect
- Mirror, Signal, Manoeuvre: check mirrors, signal in good time, then move only after a final check of the blind spot.
- Information, Position, Speed, Gear, Acceleration: gather information first, then position, adjust speed, select the correct gear, and only then accelerate.
- The two-second rule becomes three or four seconds in rain, darkness or when following a heavy vehicle that blocks your view.
Defensive habits
Scan far ahead and keep an escape route. Cover the brake when a hazard is developing. Expect the unexpected from children, cyclists, motorcyclists and animals. Never assume another driver has seen you or will obey a signal. Avoid confrontation: let the aggressive driver go. Do not drive in another vehicle's blind spot, and do not overtake where the view is blocked, on a bend, at a junction or where a continuous line forbids it.
Worked example
A driver sees a ball roll into the road from between parked cars 40 m ahead. Reasoning: a ball is almost always followed by a child, so the correct action is to lift off the accelerator, cover the brake, reduce speed immediately and be ready to stop - not to swerve into the opposite lane, which may hold oncoming traffic. Sounding the horn alone is not a plan.
Traps
Swerving as a first response instead of slowing. Assuming an indicator means the other driver will actually turn. Overtaking a long vehicle without checking that the road ahead is clear for the whole manoeuvre. Tailgating to 'encourage' a slow vehicle.