Safe Riding and Hazard Perception
What the exam tests
Safe riding and hazard perception questions test whether you read the road ahead, choose a safe position and speed, and anticipate hazards before they become emergencies. Expect scenarios with wet patches, gravel, blind bends, traffic queues and group riding.
Core technique
- Look far ahead and use a scanning cycle: mirrors, road surface, side roads, instruments.
- Keep a safety margin: at least two seconds behind the vehicle in front in dry conditions, more in rain or darkness.
- Choose a position that gives visibility and escape space, but avoid riding in others' blind spots.
- Brake progressively: the front brake does most of the stopping, but on gravel, wet paint, tram rails or diesel you need gentler, earlier braking and a straighter line.
- Cross rails, white lines and metal plates as close to a right angle as possible; do not brake or accelerate hard on them.
- In groups, ride staggered, keep your own following distance, and do not let the rider ahead dictate a speed you cannot stop from.
Worked example
A wet city street has tram rails curving across your path and a bus pulling out ahead. The correct response is to reduce speed early, straighten your line to cross the rails at a wide angle, avoid braking on the rail, and prepare to stop for the bus. Braking hard while leaned on a wet rail is the classic loss-of-grip crash.
Traps
Target fixation on a pothole or oncoming car; grabbing the front brake on a slippery surface; following too closely to "keep up"; overtaking on a blind crest because the rider ahead did.