Sharing the Road, Hazard Perception and Defensive Driving for Heavy Vehicles
What this domain tests
Sharing-the-road questions test hazard perception and defensive driving in a heavy vehicle: following distance, blind spots, turning geometry, and speed choice. The exam rewards the driver who creates space and anticipates other road users’ mistakes.
Core defensive habits
- Maintain at least a four-second following gap at highway speed; add time for rain, snow, darkness, or a heavy load.
- Recognize no-zones: directly behind, alongside the cab, and the right side during a right turn.
- Signal early, brake progressively, and scan 12–15 seconds ahead for brake lights, merge traffic, and construction.
- At railway crossings, know the clearance length and never stop on the tracks.
- Give cyclists and pedestrians room; a heavy vehicle’s air disturbance and turning radius can trap them alongside.
Worked example: At 80 km/h, a four-second gap is about 89 m (80 ÷ 3.6 × 4). A two-second gap is only about 44 m. With a loaded tractor-trailer’s stopping distance, 44 m leaves no margin if the lead vehicle brakes suddenly; the correct response is to back off, not to rely on ABS.
Traps: using the mirrors as the only check before a lane change; passing on the right where the blind spot is largest; and assuming a lighter vehicle will always yield. Also watch for “off-tracking”: the rear wheels cut the corner, so a turn that looks clear at the front may crush a curb or a pedestrian island.