Spotting a hazard before it becomes one

Three kinds of hazard

Static hazards are fixed: a bend, a junction, a brow, a narrow bridge. They never move, so they are completely predictable. There is no excuse for being surprised by one.

Potential hazards could cause a problem but have not started to: a parked van, a side road, a pedestrian on the pavement, a car waiting to emerge. They do not require action. What they do is tell you where to look.

Developing hazards have started to change in a way that will require you to slow down or change direction. These are the ones that matter, and the ones the hazard perception test scores.

The clue arrives before the hazard

Almost every developing hazard announces itself first. The skill is knowing what the announcement looks like.

The clue	What it means
A ball rolls into the road	A child is arriving in about a second
Brake lights three cars ahead	A queue is forming before you can see it
Front wheels of a parked car turned out	It is about to pull out
Exhaust vapour from a parked car	Someone is in it, engine running
A pedestrian turns towards the road	They are about to step off the kerb
A cyclist glances over their shoulder	They are about to move out
A lorry signals left but moves right	It needs the room to make the turn
Mud on a country road	A tractor, probably just around the bend

None of these are the hazard. All of them are the second or two of warning you get before it becomes one.

See it on the road

You are driving down a residential street at 30 mph. On the left, a van is parked.

• The van is a potential hazard. You cannot see past it, so you move out slightly and ease off.
• A ball rolls out from beside it. Now it is developing. You are already slower, you cover the brake, and you look at the gap the ball came from.
• A child follows the ball. You stop, comfortably, several metres short.

Now run the same scene without the first two steps. You are still at 30, the child appears, and you need 23 metres to stop from the moment you react.

Why the early response is a small one

Drivers who see things late have exactly one tool left: hard braking. It is uncomfortable, it surprises the driver behind, and it uses all the grip you have.

Drivers who see things early have a much better set of options:

• lift off the accelerator
• move away from the hazard within your lane
• cover the brake so your reaction time drops
• change your position for a better view

Each of these is almost invisible from outside the car, and together they mean the emergency never happens.

Building it

Say it out loud while someone else drives. “Van on the left, can’t see past it. Kid on the pavement, facing the road. Brake lights up ahead.” It feels absurd for about ten minutes and then it becomes how you look at roads.

Then practise the timing in our hazard perception scenarios, which show you exactly when the scoring window opened and what the clue was.