Being aware of potential hazards
Having the maximum time possible to react to hazards is important and can be the difference between an awkward situation or even an accident and continuing safe driving.
This requires you not to be paranoid or nervous of every situation that occurs as a driver as it is important to drive up confidence as a road user, but rather to be vigilant and be aware of 'what if' and 'what will happen now' and so forth is important.
There are a huge range of different hazards that you might encounter, and sometimes these are not what you would expect. You may be used to people not signalling correctly at roundabouts, but what when someone actually their hazard lights flashing? Or how about when an animal suddenly enters the road in front of you. And then there are emergency vehicles to deal with - many people panic when they hear the sirens coming up behind them and in the rush to pull over they don't even look at the road around them and can either hit another vehicle, cause an accident or perhaps hit a pedestrian.
Lanes and road markings can also lead to confusion and hazards; there are hotspots where many cars seem to be in the wrong lane and therefore swerve and cut across. If you know that there is a turning ahead then be aware of cars in the outer lane cutting in front of you in order to take the turning if they are still in the wrong lane. And protected lanes can also cause problems and confusion, with taxi or bus lanes for instance on occasion being frequented by other road users too, so always be careful in any situation where there are vehicles changing lanes around you.
Related Articles...
Overtaking cyclists safely
You need to constantly be on the lookout for cyclists because they are a lot less visible than cars and motor vehicles.
Whilst cyclists should have lights in poor light conditions or in the...
What to do in an accident situation
If you do have an accident, then you must stop. Whilst you may read about people driving away from the scene of an accident, you should always stop and face up to any responsibilities involving...
The Driving Standards Agency
The Driving Standards Agency has a website at www.dsa.gov.uk.
They are an executive agency within the Department for Transport in the UK.
They deliver tests for theory and practical...
The different types of tyre and maintenance
You might tire of talking about tyres, but these are extremely important elements of your car, being the only part that touches the road.
And they need to be in good working order to do their...
Practical Driving Test
There is an online booking system available for a practical driving test which you can access from the DirectGov website.
The web address to do this is: ...
Understanding illuminated signals on motorways
The location of the signs and signals that you see on motorway itself tells you some information: who it applies to.
Signs at the edge of the road will apply to all drivers, whilst those that...
Various road markings you might find
Many drivers who are good at interpreting and understanding what a large range of road signs mean are not so good when it comes to road markings.
Some drivers appear to not even really be...
What are driving offences
Driving offences are what happens when you do not meet your obligations as a road user.
This could be something like not having the correct documentation that you require or something much...
Selecting low gears when driving
When you are driving, you will just learn to change gears without really thinking about what you are doing and when. But generally you will change up gears the faster you are going, and this is...
Rules regarding the use of seat belts
When it comes to seat belts, you should be certain of what the rules are with regard to seat belt usage, and your responsibilities as the driver in terms of other passengers in your vehicle and...
Back to home page of driving theory test questions
