Hazard perception
Half the theory test, and the half most people neglect. It is a skill rather than a body of knowledge, which means it improves with practice and not with reading.
How this section is scored
- Video clips filmed from a driver's point of view.
- Each clip contains at least one developing hazard, and one clip contains two.
- Up to 5 points per developing hazard, depending on how early you respond.
- Pass mark: 44 out of 75.
- Clicking continuously or in a pattern scores zero for that clip.
- You cannot replay a clip.
You must pass this section and the multiple choice, in the same sitting. A perfect 50 out of 50 with 40 on hazard perception is a fail.
About our scenarios
We do not host the official DVSA hazard-perception clips — they are not ours to use. Our exercises are original illustrated scenarios built to teach the same judgement: read the clues, decide when the hazard starts developing, and respond in time.
They score on the same five-point scale and penalise pattern clicking the same way, so the habits transfer.
For clips filmed in the official format, use the free practice material on GOV.UK.
Work through it in order
Step 1
Potential versus developing
Only developing hazards score. Learn to tell the difference before you learn anything else.
Step 2
Where to look
Pavements, junction mouths, wheels, reflections, brake lights. Hazards develop at the edges.
Step 3
Click timing
How the five-point scoring window works, why too early scores nothing, and why clicking constantly scores zero.
Step 4
Practice scenarios
Illustrated scenarios with click timing, a scoring timeline and an explanation of every clue.
Available scenarios
motorway · Dry, daylight, national speed limit
Brake lights, several vehicles ahead
Traffic on a motorway begins to slow well in front of you, before the car directly ahead reacts.
residential · Dry, daylight, 30 mph limit
The van you cannot see past
A residential street with vehicles parked along the left. A ball rolls out from between them.
rural · Overcast, damp patches, national speed limit
The slow vehicle that is about to turn
A tractor ahead on a country lane slows and begins to swing right into a field entrance.
urban · Dry, daylight, 20 mph limit
The door you did not expect
A line of parked cars beside a moving lane. One has just been parked.
urban · Damp, overcast, 30 mph limit
The cyclist and the side road
You are following a cyclist as a car waits to emerge from a junction on the left.
urban · Dry, daylight, 30 mph limit
The driver who has not seen you
A car waits to emerge from a side road on the left, with the driver looking the other way.
urban · Overcast, dry, 30 mph limit
The bus you cannot see round
A bus is stopped at the kerb ahead. Someone steps out from in front of it.
urban · Dry, daylight, 30 mph limit
The bus that is about to move
A bus at a stop ahead signals and begins to pull out into your lane.