Driving Test - Hazards React To What You See

On the driving test, a sign of being a safe drver is you being able to react to everything you see in front of the vehicle and dealing with it adequately.

Passing the hazard perception theory test does not mean that the driving examiner will not assess this skill on the pratical car test, in fact they want you to demonstrate that you understand those video clips, so you need to transfer that knowledge into the car cockpit.

The basic rule is if you spot a hazard, react and deal with it in a safe manner.

What is a Hazard? As far as the DSA is concerned, a Hazard is anything that COULD POTENTIALLY cause you to change your current speed or direction. Examples are pedestrians, junctions, traffic lights, other cars approaching, narrow road, obstacles.

How do you deal with a Hazard? IMMEDIATELY you spot a hazard, you should use the MSPSL Routine to deal with it.

M: Check your MIRRORS (interior first, and exterior on the side you might need to move to, or exterior right if slowing down).

S: Signals are not usually necessary when dealing with hazards, even if you are overtaking obstacles as the next step takes care of that (the execption to this is on Dual Carriageways where you SHOULD ALWAYS signal when moving out of your lane).

P: Position your vehicle EARLY if you need to change direction. Learner drivers tend to get this wrong, ending up stopping too far to the left behind an obstacle, and then finding it hard to get past as cars behind overtake them.

S: Adjust your speed to safely deal with the hazard ahead. Slowing down does not always mean braking, sometimes all you need to do is come off the gas, while in other cases it might be essential to almost come to a stop to go through a narrow gate.

L: Look to make sure it is safe to proceed. If approaching a crossing remember people might run across, on unmarked junctions know who has priority, and be prepared to give way to others who might force their way or exibit other unsafe skills.



The key to dealing with hazards and passing the driving test is to react early to every one of them. NEVER think it is too early, if you have spotted it, then so would the examiner who is a much more experienced driver, so they will know exactly why you are doing what you are doing.

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