Safe Driving Behaviour, Hazard Perception and Defensive Driving
Seeing hazards early
Hazard perception is tested through scenarios: a parked bus, a child near the kerb, a motorcycle weaving, a tractor emerging from a field. The skill is to scan far ahead, keep space, and have a plan before the hazard becomes an emergency.
Core habits
- Look 12–15 seconds ahead in urban driving, further on open roads, and scan mirrors every 5–8 seconds.
- Keep a two-second gap in dry conditions; double it in rain and increase it at night or when following a heavy vehicle.
- Check blind spots before changing lanes; mirrors do not show everything.
- Treat the horn as a warning, not a way to claim priority.
- Never use a hand-held phone. Fatigue, anger and alcohol all degrade judgement before you notice.
Defensive driving
Assume other road users will make mistakes. Have an escape route, cover the brake near schools and bus stops, and drop back when a lorry blocks your view. In rain, reduce speed and avoid sudden steering; standing water can cause aquaplaning.
Worked example
A bus is stopped ahead with passengers around it. The defensive response is to slow, increase the gap, and prepare to stop because a pedestrian may step out from behind it. Overtaking at speed is the hazard, not the solution.
Traps
Following a large vehicle too closely to "save time"; braking hard on a wet road; assuming a vehicle indicating left will actually turn left; driving when tired because the journey is short; using the horn instead of slowing for a child near the road.