Hazard perception, following distance and speed management
This section covers scanning, following distance and speed choice. The exam tests whether you can spot a developing hazard early and leave enough space to stop a heavy vehicle.
Core rules
Scan far ahead and use mirrors regularly; look for brake lights, pedestrians near the kerb, animals, parked vehicles and side-road traffic. Keep at least a two-second gap in good conditions; increase to three or four seconds in rain, darkness or with a heavy load. At 80 km/h, a three-second gap is about 67 metres. Choose a speed from which you can stop within the distance you can see to be clear, not just the posted limit. Reduce speed before bends, junctions and crests. Avoid tailgating; it removes your view and your stopping margin.
Worked example
You are driving at 80 km/h. The vehicle ahead passes a marker; you count three seconds before you reach it. That gap is about 67 m, but the road is wet and your truck is loaded. You increase to four seconds, roughly 89 m, because wet grip and load weight lengthen stopping distance.
Traps
Using the two-second gap in rain; treating the speed limit as a target; following a large truck closely because it blocks the view; and looking only at the vehicle directly ahead instead of scanning for the cause of its braking.