Hazard Perception and Safe Riding
The hazard domain tests anticipation. A rider who is constantly asking "what could go wrong here, and what would I do about it?" passes this section; one who reacts only after something happens does not.
Where hazards come from
- Oncoming vehicles turning left across your path, often misjudging your speed because a motorcycle looks further away than it is.
- Vehicles emerging from side roads, driveways and parking places, where the driver's view is blocked.
- Pedestrians and children appearing between parked cars, and delivery vans stopping unpredictably.
- Your own blind spot: never sit alongside a lorry or in a driver's rear quarter where you cannot be seen.
Surface hazards
Tram rails, painted markings, manhole covers and steel plates become treacherous when wet; cross rails at a wide angle and avoid braking on paint. Look for diesel spill at roundabouts and bus stops, gravel on the outside of bends, and wet leaves in autumn. A rain shower after a long dry spell lifts oil and is the slipperiest moment of all.
Weather and wind
Cross a bridge or leave a built-up area and you can meet a sudden gust; slow down and expect buffeting when passing a lorry. Keep a small speed difference when filtering, and accept that filtering is a manoeuvre you must justify, never a right.
Worked example
You follow a lorry on a wet dual carriageway. Spray limits your view to a few metres, so you drop back to four seconds, move out of the spray, and hold a position where the driver can see you in the mirror. You can now see the road and be seen.
Traps that cost marks
Treating the speed limit as a target; sitting in a blind spot because you can see the driver; and braking on a painted line or a rail instead of rolling over it.