NSW RMS Hazard Perception Handbook

7/28/2019 NSW RMS Hazard Perception Handbook

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Haar

perceptionhanboo


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Hazard perception handbook 1

This hanboo is onl an interpretation o the law mae eas to unerstan

b using plain English. Laws change oten so mae sure ou hae the mostrecent hanboo aailable on Roas an Maritime Serices (RMS) website at

www.rms.nsw.go.au

OTHER RMS PUBLICATIONS fOR LEARNER dRIvER

RoadUsersHandbook

Driverqualificationhandbook


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Hazard perception handbook2

When ou were a learner rier, it might hae seeme that riing was all about

steering the car, changing gears, using the inicators an nowing the roa rules.While these are important, to sta sae as a solo rier ou also nee to be able to

etect an react to an haars that might arise when ou are riing.A hazard is any possible danger that might lead to an accident. This inclues

peestrians crossing the roa, roawors, broen-own ehicles an other carsstopping ahea o ou or entering rom sie roas.

There are man haars out there on the roas. Goo an sae riers now howto recognise an respon to haars. The now how to spot them in time to tae

actions that will aoi accients. The now these things because the hae goohazard perception skills.

The Hazard Perception Handbook an the associate interactie inormation on ourwebsite hae been prouce to assist ou in eeloping our haar perception

sills an to rie more sael.

Foreword


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Contents

1. WHAT IS THE HPT? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

The Haar Perception Test (HPT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6Wh the HPT? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Haars an haar perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7deeloping haar perception sills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

2. CRASH PATTERNS Of PROvISIONAL dRIvERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

fie most common crash tpes or proisional riers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Where an when these crashes happen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12Comparison with ull licence holers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Wh are proisional riers more inole in crashes? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13Aoiing crashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

3. HOW THE HPT WORkS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Where to go or the HPT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14Non-English speaers/applicants with special nees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

When to tae the HPT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15What happens when ou get there . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15Interacting with the HPT computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Auio/soun option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17The soun button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17What ou will see ater the welcome screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18The test instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

The conirmation screen buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19Ater the conirmation screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19Thepracticequestions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20TherealHPTquestions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21The results an eebac screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21If you fail the HPT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Aiing an cheating uring the HPT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22Developing and practising hazard perception skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Cross reerencing to the HPT website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

4. kEEPING SPACE fROM OTHER vEHICLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Crash avoidance space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Maintaining a crash aoiance space to the ront . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27Controlling your speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28Spee limits, speeing an crashing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

The problems with spee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28Speeing an crash seerit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29Spee an single ehicle crashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

A inal wor on spee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

ke points summar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31Practice eercise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31Keeping a safe following distance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32


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The three secon rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33What a sae ollowing istance loos lie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34ke points summar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Practice eercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35Keeping a safe distance to the side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36Aoi traelling net to other ehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37ke points summar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37Keeping a safe distance to the rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38ke points summar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

5. SELECTING SAfE GAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

What is a sae gap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39ke points summar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Guielines or sae gap selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40Selecting sae gaps when turning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41Safe gaps turning left. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41ke points summar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42Safe gaps turning right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43features o right turns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43Guielines or right turns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Turning right at a cross intersection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44Turning right at traic lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44Guielines, not rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45ke points summar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45Practice eercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46Safe gaps Making U-turns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48features o U-turns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

A wor o caution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48ke points summar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48Safe gaps when crossing intersections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49features o crossing intersections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49Guielines, not rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

ke points summar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50Safe gaps when overtaking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

A wor o caution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51features o oertaing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52Guielines or selecting sae gaps or oertaing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53Practice eercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53ke points summar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57


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6. SCANNING fOR HAzARdS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

What oes scanning mean? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58How to scan or haars when riing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

A scanning routine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59Loo up to 12 secons ahea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59Chec our mirror eer 8-10 secons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Chec our blin spots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60ke points summar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61Smart scanning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Loo or change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62

A hazard perception action plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63Listening or haars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

Aoiing atigue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64ke points summar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64Practice eercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65

7. IMPORTANT SITUATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Important haar perception situations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Coping with these situations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Peestrians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68Cclists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69

Motorcclists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70Trucks and buses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71Roadworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73Crashes and breakdowns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74Emergency vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75

Animals on the road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76ke points summar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77Practice eercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77

8. ExPECTING THE UNExPECTEd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

The role o epectancies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78The unepecte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79Epecting the unepecte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79Ientiing the main haar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80ke points summar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81Practice eercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81

A few final words about hazard perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82Eperience an practice the main teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82Summar o e haar perception sills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Practice, practice an more practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .848. GLOSSARy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

9. INdEx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87


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THE HAzARd PERCEPTION TEST (HPT)

The HPT inoles a touch-screen computer-base test which

measures our abilit to recognise potentiall angeroussituations on the roa an react appropriatel.

you must pass the HPT to progress rom a P1 to a P2 licence.

A summar o how the HPT wors an what to epect when ou tae the test can

be oun at the section title, How the Hazard Perception Test works.

you can also isit the HPT website or a more interactie eplanation.

WHy THE HPT?

The aim o the HPT is to conirm that P1 riers hae enough haar perception

sills to grauate to the less restricte P2 licence. Research shows that HPT sills areimportant or sae riing an that riers with poor haar perception sills usuall

hae more crashes. Research also shows that screen-base haar perception testscan etect riers with a higher ris o crash inolement.

Currentl, riers age uner 20 ears are inole in casualt crashes at almosttwice the rate o those age 20 ears or more. The graph ollowing shows this

clearl.

Drivers aged

under 20

116

69

Drivers aged

20 and over

Number o rier inolements in casualt crashes per 10,000 licence holers, 2007-2009

What is the HPT?1


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1

The HPT is base on the riing situations that lea to the ie most common crash

tpes or NSW proisional riers. More inormation on these crash tpes ma beoun in the section Crash patterns of provisional drivers in NSW.

The purpose o the HPT is to reuce the high leel o oung rier crashes in NSWb:

Encouragingnewdriverstodevelophazardperceptionskills.

TestingP1driversondrivingsituationsthatareknowntoleadtothemost

common tpes o crashes inoling new riers in NSW.

OnlyallowingP1driverswithadequatehazardperceptionskillstograduatetoless restricte P2 status.

HAzARdS ANd HAzARd PERCEPTION

There are three basic haar perception sills that are assesse in the HPT. Thethree are eeping a sae istance rom other ehicles, selecting sae gaps an

ientiing haars.

keeping a sae istance rom other ehicles allows ou to hae more time to etect

an respon to haars.

Selecting sae gaps when turning, crossing traic or changing lanes will enable outo turn, oertae, change lanes or cross an intersection without being inole in a

crash.


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Ientiing haars ahea, behin an to the sie is a sill that riers nee to useto aoi crashes.

NSW001

Inormation on how to eelop these e haar perception sills an other useul

sae riing sills can be oun in this hanboo.

1


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dEvELOPING HAzARd PERCEPTION SkILLS

It taes time to eelop haar perception sills. The best wa to achiee them isb getting plent o riing eperience across lots o ierent riing situations.

This is how more eperience riers hae eelope their haar perception sills.Because the hae these sills, these riers are inole in ewer crashes than lesseperience riers.

The aim o this hanboo is to help ou eelop haar perception sills that will

mae ou a saer rier an prepare ou to unertae the Haar Perception Test

(HPT). It will also help mae the roa saer or other roa users.

Because it taes time an practice to eelop haar perception sills, ou shoul be

woring on them rom the a that ou get our P1 licence.

1


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Crash patterns of provisional drivers2

About 80 per cent o all NSW proisional rier crashes allwithin ie crash tpes.

fIvE MOST COMMON CRASH TyPES fOR PROvISIONAL dRIvERS

33 per cent inole a rear en collision o two ehicles traelling in the same

irection.

17 per cent inole colliing with other ehicles coming rom ajacent irections(generall rom the let or right), usuall at intersections.


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2

15 per cent inole collisions with ehicles coming rom the opposite irection

(eg hea on collisions).

8 per cent inole running o the roa on a cure or ben an hitting an object,such as a tree, a pole or a pare ehicle.


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9 percent inole running o the roa on a straight section an hitting an object

such as a tree, a pole or a pare ehicle.

WHERE ANd WHEN THESE CRASHES HAPPEN

Most o these crashes occur in alight in ine weather an on r roas. The arealso more common in built up areas.

COMPARISON WITH fULL LICENCE HOLdERS

When compare with ull licence holers in NSW, proisional riers are oer-

represente in crashes:

Onlocalroads.

Indarkness.

Wheretheirvehiclecollideswithroadsideobjectssuchastreesorfences.

2


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2

WHy ARE PROvISIONAL dRIvERS MORE INvOLvEd IN CRASHES?

The higher inolement o proisional riers in crashes seems to be partl ue toineperience because riing is a new sill. When we are new at anthing (eg plaing

tennis or netball) we ten to mae mistaes an not be as sillul as those with lotso eperience.

Howeer, new riers also sometimes o things that can increase their ris o crashinolement. These inclue:

Travellingtoocloselybehindothervehicles.

Drivingtoofastfortheconditions.

Notlookingfarenoughaheadwhendriving.

Choosinggapsthataretoosmallwhenmakingturns,crossingintersectionsoroertaing.

AvOIdING CRASHES

I ou are a proisional rier, it is important to now what riing situations aremost angerous or ou. you can then ienti the sills ou nee to practise so ou

can hanle these situations sael. Research shows that one o the most importanto these sills is haar perception. This is wh RMS has introuce the HPT or

P riers in NSW.


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3How the HPT works

The Haar Perception Test is a touch-screencomputer-base test that measures our abilit to recognisepotentiall angerous situations an react appropriatel tothese situations when riing.

This section o the hanboo eplains how the test wors an what to epect whenou tae it.

BOOkING THE HPT

you will nee to boo an pa a ee to tae a HPT. When ou are rea mae a

booing:

ByselectingmyTestsatwww.myRTA.com

BycallingRMSon132213.

Inpersonataregistryinyourarea.

WHERE TO GO fOR THE HPT

A HPT can be taen at our registr. In towns without our registr, ou can go to

an RMS agenc or the test the RMS agenc is usuall at the council chambers orpolice station. On the a ou go or the HPT, ou nee to proie a completeLicence Application Forman show acceptable proo o our ientit (See the

brochure How to prove who you are to RMS). I our ientit ocuments o not meet

RMS stanars ou cannot attempt the HPT.

A ee is charge each time ou sit the HPT.

NON-ENGLISH SPEAkERS/ APPLICANTS WITH SPECIAL NEEdS

The HPT is also aailable in nine communit languages (Arabic, Chinese, Croatian,

Gree, korean, Serbian, Spanish, Turish an vietnamese).

Shoul ou wish to unertae the test in a language other than English,aninterpreterserviceisavailable.Ifyourequirethisservicepleasecall

13 22 13.

An auio unction is also aailable in English an each o the nine communit

languages.Thisallowsyoutolistentothequestionsandansweroptionsthrough

a heaset. I ou wish to use the auio/soun option, please aise the registroicer beore starting our test.


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3

Applicants with special nees (or their representaties) shoul iscuss an issues

relate to their nees or isabilities with the registr manager beore booing thetest. This allows time or appropriate arrangements to be mae or the applicant on

the a o the test. Arrangements can be mae b calling 13 22 13.

WHEN TO TAkE THE HPT

you can attempt the HPT when ou hae ha a minimum o 12 months eperienceon our P1 licence. Howeer, there is no hurr,ou shoul onl attempt the HPT

when ou eel rea. Rea means that ou hae ha suicient riing eperience,

hae rea this hanboo thoroughl (an isite the companion website: www.rms.nsw.go.au/hpt.htm) an applie the inormation to our riing.

Remember, ou will be charge the HPT test ee each time ou sit the test.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN yOU GET THERE

When ou go to a registr or testing agenc to tae the HPT, our licence etails willbe chece. your eligibilit to sit or the test will also be chece.

Once these checs hae been mae, ou will be assigne to a test ios to tae the

test. A tpical ios is shown in the ollowing picture. It is simpl a special es with

a touch-screen computer mounte on it.

At some testing agencies an in some regional or remote areas, ou ma tae theHPT on a portable or laptop computer. In these situations the HPT is eactl the

same.


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Interacting with the HPT computeryou o not nee to unerstan computers to tae the test. All interaction with the

HPT computer is ia the touchscreen.

The irst screen that ou will see is the Welcome screen which is shown below.

When ou hae rea the inormation on the screen ou just touch the screen tomoe to the net screen.

The structure o the test is:

Welcomescreen.

Testinstructions.

Twopracticeitems.

15testitems.

Feedbackscreen.

These parts o the test are eplaine below.

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AUdIO/SOUNd OPTION

you can rea the test instructions on the screen, an ou can also hae theinstructions rea to ou. I ou choose to listen to the instructions, ou nee to

aise the RMS customer serice oicer at the counter beore the test an ou willbe gien a set o heaphones. you will then simpl nee to plug in the heaphonesto the base o the computer monitor. Ater the test, ou must return the heaphones

to the customer serice oicer.

THE SOUNd BUTTON

There is a roun green soun button mare with a speaer smbol. This buttonturns the soun on or o uring the test. you can use it at an time. When the

soun button is on, ou will hear the inormation written on the screen.

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WHAT yOU WILL SEE AfTER THE WELCOME SCREEN

Ater the Welcome screen, the computer will tae ou through an introuctorsection that tells ou about the test. This is ollowe b the test instructions. you

willalsobegiventwopracticeHPTquestionsbeforetheactualteststarts.Thiswillhelp ou become amiliar with the HPT an how it operates.

THE TEST INSTRUCTIONS

The test instructions eplain that the HPT is mae up o 15 test items (orquestions).Theseare15filmclipsof realtrafficsituationsthatyouwillbeaskedto

respon to. These situations are base on the most common crash tpes in whichproisional riers are inole (see ie most common crash tpes or proisional

riers).

In the ilm clips ou see what the rier woul see. you are tol what the rier

wants to o (eg turn or go straight ahea) an ou touch the screen i an when outhin it woul be sae to o it.

for eample, ou might be shown the scene in the ollowing picture. The tet on thescreen (an the oice on the soun support) might sa:

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you are riing along a 2-wa street in a 60 m/h spee one. you wish to eep

riing straight ahea.

Touch the screen when ou woul slow own.

At the beginning o each HPT ilm clip ou will be tol about the situation. This

might be as shown in the picture aboe. To help ou unerstan the situation, ouwill be shown a still picture or three secons beore the ilm clip starts moing.

In each ilm clip the ashboar shows the spee at which ou are traelling an ithe inicators are operating.

during the ilm clip ou will nee to touch the screen i an when ou thin anactionisrequired.Actionsmayincludesuchthingsasslowingdown,overtakingor

crossing an intersection.

I ou thin it woul be unsae to tae an action ou shoul not touch the screen.

Just lie when ou are riing on a real roa, the HPT ma show ou situationswhere it woul be unsae to tae an action such as turning or oertaing. Thereore,

ou nee to be able to ecie when ou can tae an action an when it woul besaer to o nothing.

I ou touch the screen uring a practice item or actual HPT item, ou will hear asoun an the picture will lash. This inicates that the computer has recore our

response.

The ilm clip ma run or another ew secons, but once ou hae hear the soun

an seen the lash there is no nee to touch the screen again.

I ou i not touch the screen the clip will continue to pla to the en an ou will

not hear the soun or see an lash.

THE CONfIRMATION SCREEN BUTTONS

Ater each ilm clip, the two buttons shown in the ollowing picture appear on thescreen. These let ou conirm whether ou i or i not touch the screen uring

the HPT item.

AfTER THE CONfIRMATION SCREEN

during the actual test, once ou hae conirme our response, a new test item willappear. This process will continue until ou hae complete the test. At the en o

the test a message on the screen will tell ou how ou went.

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THE PRACTICE qUESTIONS

Thepracticequestionsarejustliketheactualtestquestions.However,aftereach

practicequestionyouwillgetfeedbackaboutyourresponseandthechancetorepeatthequestion.

you will be tol i our response was goo, coul hae been better or was unsae.

I our response was unsae or in nee o improement ou can tr that practice

item again.

Onceyouhavecompletedthetwopracticequestions,youwillbeaskedtotouchthe

screen to show that ou want to start the actual test.

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THE REAL HPT qUESTIONS

Once ou moe on to the actual HPT, ou will be presente with 15 test items.

Theseare randomlyselectedfromalargerpoolof questions.Youwillonlybeallowe to see each item once an will not be able to change our response to an

item. This is just lie real riing where ou onl get one chance to respon to asituation.

There is no eebac ater each test item. Once one item has inishe the HPT willprogress to the net one until all 15 hae been complete.

THE RESULTS ANd fEEdBACk SCREEN

When all 15 items hae been complete, a result screen will appear to tell ou how

ou went. This will tell ou i ou hae passe or aile. you will not receie aniniiual score.

I ou pass, ou will also get eebac on areas that shoul be improe (eg selectingsae gaps when turning at intersections).

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3

I ou ail, ou will get speciic eebac on areas that nee to be improe beore

retaing the HPT (eg selecting sae ollowing istance when traelling behin otherehicles).

A printout o the results an eebac screen can be obtaine rom the registr oragenc sta. This ma help ou to prepare to resit the HPT.

The last message on the results screen will tell ou to return to the counter in

the registr or agenc or issue o our P2 licence or to arrange another HPT

appointment.

fAILEd HPT

I ou ail the HPT, another ee is charge to sit the test again. you shoul onlre-attempt the test when ou are rea. you nee to bring our application orm an

ientit ocuments.

PROOf Of IdENTITy ANd NSW RESIdENTIAL AddRESS

you nee to proie proo o our ientit an NSW resiential aress

when ou appl or a rier licence.

for more inormation about proo o ientit ocuments, get the brochure How to

proe who ou are to the RMS rom an motor registr or isit RMS website. Therearealsospecialrequirementsthatapplyif youhavechangedyourname.

AIdING ANd CHEATING dURING THE HPT

It shoul be note that ou ma not be assiste uring the HPT. The HPT is atest or iniiual riers to see i the are goo enough to hol a P2 licence. All

instances o cheating or attempts to cheat will be treate seriousl b RMS oicials.Penalties, incluing prosecution, ma be impose on anone who accepts ai or

proies ai to HPT caniates uring the test. At the er least ou will not beallowe to resit the HPT or si wees.


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3

deeloping an practising haarperception sills

I ou hae a P1 licence then ou hae alrea eelope some haar perceptionsills. Howeer, ou nee to eelop these sills urther as a solo rier because ouare no longer uner superision. you must be able to cope on our own with all

riing haars that arise.

The basic haar perception sills are:

Keepingasafedistancefromothervehicles.

Selectingsafegapswhenturning,crossingtrafficorchanginglanes.


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3

Scanningforhazardsahead,behindandtotheside.

NSW 001

The net three sections each outline a basic haar perception sill area. This is

ollowe b a e point summar an suggestions on how to eelop an practisethis haar perception sill. Remember that practice on the roa is essential to the

eelopment o soun haar perception sills.

you will notice that the practice eercises oten as ou to get a rien or moreeperience rier who ou trust to help ou. A common pattern or the practiceeercises will be:

Youobserveasapedestrian.

Youthenobserveasapassengerwithamoreexperienceddriveratthewheel.

Youthentryitwithyouasthedriver.

This is to help mae the eercises easier to learn an saer to o. Inoling a more

eperience rier allows ou to get some eebac rom riers who hae moreeelope haar perception sills.

Youcantlearnthemproperlyfromabookorawebsite.Itsabitlike learningtopla tennis or cricet, boos an websites can help ou, but ou nee to get out

there an practise to eelop an improe our sills.


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CROSS REfERENCING TO THE HPT MOdULE ON OUR WEBSITE

you shoul isit the HPT moule on our website to help ou learn about haarperception sills an how to appl them.

you ma in that something that is unclear to ou in this hanboo is easier tounerstan on the HPT moule o our website. So use this hanboo an the

HPT website together to help ou eelop an practise the haar perception sillsneee to be a sae rier an to help ou prepare or the HPT.


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4Keeping space from other vehicles

The more space that ou hae between our car an otherehicles, the more time ou hae to etect an respon tohaars that might arise when riing.

Crash aoiance spaceHaars coul be other ehicles changing lanes in ront o ou or the car aheabraing suenl to aoi a peestrian who wals onto the roa. To sta sae, ou

nee to manage a crash aoiance space aroun our car. The best wa to o thisis to imagine an inisible buer aroun our car as shown in the ollowing picture.

As ou rie along the roa, this space nees to be maintaine b ajusting ourspee or position on the roa. for eample, i the ehicle ahea slows own, ou

will nee to slow own too.

This section o the hanboo eplains how ou maintain crash aoiance space

aroun our car. It coers how to eep a sae istance to:

Thefront.

Thesides. Therear.


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4

MAINTAINING SPACE TO THE fRONT

This is perhaps the most important part o the buer or proisional riers. Thespace to the ront o our ehicle is our crash aoiance space. you ma remember

that about 29 per cent o NSW proisional rier crashes inole a ehicle runninginto the bac o another ehicle. This is the most common tpe o crash orproisional riers (see ie most common crash tpes or proisional riers).

Maintaining a crash aoiance space to the ront also gies ou more time to spot

other haars that ma arise.

Tomaintainanadequatecrashavoidancespacetothefrontyouneedto:

Controlyourspeedtosuittheroadandtrafficconditions.

Keepasafedistancebetweenyourcarandthevehicleinfront.

The net two sections help ou learn how to o this.


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Controlling our spee

SPEEd LIMITS, SPEEdING ANd CRASHING

Spee limit signs show the maimum spee permitte on a particular roa. This is

not alwas the saest spee. Smart riers ajust their spee to suit the traic anroa conition.

It is important to note that more than one third of all fatal crashes in NSW

are speed related. No one forces you to speed. The choice is yours.

Trael time sures b automobile organisations such as NRMA an RACv

show that speeing maes er little ierence to our trael time in built-up areas. Apart rom the increase ris o a speeing

ine an crash, speeing also costs ou more in uel consumption.

THE PROBLEMS WITH SPEEd

Speeing cuts own the time that ou hae to etect an respon to haars thatmight come up in the traic ahea. for eample, in the ollowing picture the blue

car is traelling at 65 m/h an the green car at 60 m/h. When a truc suenl

blocs the roa the green car hits the truc at 5 m/h. But the blue car hits the trucat 32 m/h. So een 5 m/h can mae a big ierence.

Car A was traelling

at 60 m/h an hits

the truc at 5 m/h

Car B was traelling

at 65 m/h an hits

the truc at 32 m/h

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The time it taes to stop a ehicle can be broen into two parts; the time it taes to

processthesituationandthetimerequiredtoinstigatethecorrectresponse.

Generall it will tae about one an a hal secons to process the situation (reaction

time) an a urther one an a hal secons to tae action (response time), a total othree secons.

The ollowing graph shows the istance that ou trael in three secons at ierent

spees. The aster ou go, the more istance ou nee to stop. you nee een more

istance when the roa is wet.

40

50

60 70 80 90 100 110

Speed of car (km/h)

Distancetravelledin3seconds(m

etres)

60

80

100

70

90

distance traelle in 3 secons at spees o 60 m/h through to 110 m/h.

SPEEdING ANd CRASH SEvERITy

Speeing also as to the seerit o an crash that ou might be inole in.The ris o eath an injur increases man times oer. for eample, i ou hit a

peestrian at 60 m/h ou will probabl ill them. I ou hit them at 50 m/h the

are more liel to be injure, but not ille. This is one reason wh the 50 m/hlocal spee limit has been introuce into man parts o NSW.

Each ear aroun 2000 peestrians are ille or injure on NSW roas. Regrettabl,

proisional riers are oer-represente among riers who hit peestrians.

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Research shows that speeing is more common at night, particularl b

ineperience riers. This ma be ue to haing ewer inicators o how

fastyouaregoingwhenitisdark.Itishardertoseehowquicklyobjectslike

trees an poles lash b.

SPEEd ANd SINGLE vEHICLE CRASHES

Spee is a common cause o single ehicle crashes inoling P riers. Put simpl,

man P riers rie too ast or the conitions. This reuces their opportunit toetect an respon to haars such as bens, roa narrowings or rough suraces. As

a result some hae crashes where the run o the roa on a ben or straight an hit

something lie a tree or a pare car.you can nearl alwas aoi these crashes i ou control our spee an gieoursel enough time to scan ahea or haars an enough time an space to o

something about them. The aice is simple:

Drivewithinthespeedlimits.

Slowdownbeforeenteringcurvesorbends.

Lookforandtakenoteofwarningsignsindicatingcurvesorotherhazardsahea an slow own beore ou get to the haar.

Slowtothespeedrecommendedonthewarningsigns.

If theweatherisbadorthevisibilityispoorslowtoaspeedwhereyoucanpullupquicklyif ahazardappears.

Warning signs lie the ones shown in the ollowing picture are there to help ou staout o trouble when riing, b warning ou about haars ahea. Howeer, the

will not help ou i ou are traelling too ast to etect them or to prepare or thehaars inicate.

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A fINAL WORd ON SPEEd

Controlling our spee is largel in our own hans. Obeing the spee limits anajusting our spee to suit the conitions will help ou aoi a crash, speeing

ines or losing our licence through emerit points.

kEy POINTS SUMMARy: kEEPING SPACE fROM OTHER vEHICLES

Maintain a crash avoidance space

ront, sies an rear.

Control your speed

obe spee limits an ajust our spee to suit the conitions.

When ou are approaching a place where haars are liel an

youmayneedtoslowdownorstopquicklyegpedestriancrossingsor

shopping areas, tae our oot o the accelerator an get rea

to brae.

PRACTICE ExERCISES: CONTROLLING yOUR SPEEd

Mostexperienceddrivershavelearnedtojudgehowfasttheyaredrivinganddont

nee to loo at the speeometer all the time. you o nee to chec the speeometerregularl, but it is also important to eelop a sense o what our car eels lie

traelling at ierent spees, an how the roa aroun ou loos. This can help ouaoi speeing an gie ou more time to spot haars.

for eample, when ou are riing in a particular spee one (eg 50 m/h, 60 m/hor80km/h)observehowquicklyyouseemtoapproachandpassstationaryobjects

(eg power poles) at the sie o the roa. Also note how the car eels an whateebac ou get rom the roa (eg roa noise an ibration).

Without breaing the spee limit, see i ou can juge how ast ou are going thencompare this with the speeometer. Tr this rom the passenger seat irst with

someone else riing. Tell the rier how ast ou thin the car is traelling, then asthem to tell ou the actual spee.

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keeping a sae ollowing istanceThe istance that it will tae ou to stop our car epens on the spee at which ou

are traelling. The aster ou go, the longer the stopping istance. for eample, ou

nee almost twice the istance to stop rom 90 m/h compare with stopping rom60 m/h, een in the best possible riing conitions that is, on a seale, r roa.

Initial speed (km/h)

Distance

inmetres

150

100

50

060 km/h 90 km/h

Stopping istance.

This means that ou must increase the ollowing istance between ou an thevehicleaheadasyouincreasespeed.Ifyoudontdothisyoumaycrashintotheback

of thevehicleaheadif ithastostopquickly.Thistypeof crashhappenstoalotof provisionaldriversinNSWeachyear,buttheresaneasywaytoavoidthis.Itscalled

the three secon rule.

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THE THREE SECONd GAP.

Thisbasictechniqueappliesatanyspeedandiseasytouse.Hereshow.

3 seconds

All ou nee to o when riing is watch the ehicle in ront o ou pass an object

at the sie o the roa such as a power pole, tree or sign. As it passes the object,start counting one thousan an one, one thousan an two, one thousan an

three.

I ou pass the object ou pice out beore ou inish saing all the wors, ou are

ollowing too closel. Slow own, pic another roasie object an repeat the worsagain to mae sure that ou hae increase our ollowing istance enough.

Whatsgoodaboutthethreesecondgapisthatithelpsyoukeepasafefollowing

istance at an spee. Using the three secon gap gies ou a bigger ollowing

istance the aster ou rie.

More than 3 secs

you shoul allow more than a three secon ollowing istance in rain, og an onicyroads.Youshouldalsousealongerfollowingdistanceatnightbecauseitsharderto juge istances an spot haars when riing in the ar.

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4

WHAT A SAfE fOLLOWING dISTANCE LOOkS LIkE

Whatdosafeandunsafefollowingdistanceslookliketoadriver?Belowisadriversee iew o ollowing another ehicle at 60 m/h.

Ataonesecondfollowingdistance.(Toocloseunsafe).

Atathreesecondfollowingdistance.(OKingoodconditionsonly).


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4

Atafoursecondfollowingdistance.(Betterinwetandpoorconditions).

kEy POINTS SUMMARy: kEEPING A SAfE fOLLOWINGdISTANCE

Thefasteryoudrive,thelongerthedistanceyouneedtostop.

Usethethreesecondruletokeepasafedistanceyouwillneedmorewhenitis ar, wet, ogg or ic.

you ma in it iicult to eep a three secon ollowing istance

in hea traic other riers ma moe into the gap that ou

leae. This can be annoing, but tr to maintain a three secon ollowing

istance or our own an others saet.

PRACTICE ExERCISES: USING THE THREE SECONd GAPWhen ou are riing, practise using the three secon gap when ollowing behin

other ehicles. you might be surprise how close behin other cars ou hae beenriing.

Practise in ierent spee ones until the three secon gap becomes eas to use.


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4

keeping a sae istance to the siekeeping a sae istance between ou an other roa users to our right an let is

part o maintaining a space aroun our car.

Tr to eep at least a metre between our ehicle an other moing or pare

ehicles. This is important when riing besie pare cars because someone mightopen a car oor in ront o ou. It is also important when passing or oertaing

other ehicles an when other ehicles traelling in the opposite irection pass ou

on narrow roas.

A buer to the let an right o our car also allows other roa users such as cclistssome room to moe. This reuces the chances o colliing with them.

1 metre

you must allow clearance rom oncoming traic.

1 metre

you must allow space or pare cars to open oors.


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4

AvOId TRAvELLING NExT TO OTHER vEHICLES

It is best not to trael net to other ehicles een on a multi-lane roa unless ouhae to. With a ehicle to our let an right as shown in the picture on the net

page, ou hae no space to protect ou.

The picture on the ollowing page also shows that haing ehicles to our right or

let, or both, also blocs our ision. This ma preent ou rom seeing a haar tothe let or right (eg a car entering rom a sie roa).

It will be harer to aoi traelling net to other ehicles on multi-lane roas orreewas when the traic is hea. In these circumstances, howeer, the traic is

usuall traelling more slowl, so braing is oten easier.

kEy POINTS SUMMARy: kEEPING A SAfE dISTANCE TO THESIdE

Keepatleastaonemetrebufferbetweenyouandvehiclesonyourleftorright.

Avoidtravellingnexttoothervehicles,particularlytrucksandbuses.

Givecyclists,motorcyclistsandpedestriansplentyof room.


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4

keeping a sae istance to the rearMaintaining a buer behin ou is iicult as it is the other rier ollowing ou

who has most control o this space. I, as in the picture below, the ehicle behin

ou is ollowing too closel, slow own slightl to increase the space in ront o ou.This means that i ou spot a haar in ront o ou, ou can brae more grauall

which will allow the ehicle behin more space to stop.

NSW 001

kEy POINTS SUMMARy: kEEPING A SAfE dISTANCE TO THE REAR

Itisdifficulttomaintainabufferbehindyouastheotherdriver

controls the space.

If thevehiclebehindistravellingtooclosely,slowdownslightlytoincreasethe

buer in ront o ou.


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5

Selecting sae gaps in traic when turning, oertaing or changinglanes is a e haar perception sill.

Gap selection is also er important at intersections. Up to one thir o NSWproisional rier crashes happen where the rier selects a gap that is too small ancollies with another ehicle.

WHAT IS A SAfE GAP?

A sae gap is one that enables ou to turn, oertae, change lanes or cross anintersection without impacting on the crash aoiance space o other roa users.

This means that no other roa users shoul nee to slow own or moe to aoi

our ehicle. for eample, i ou mae a let turn rom a sie street onto a mainroa an the traic on the main roa has to brae or change lanes the gap was not

sae.

I a gap is not large enough it is unsae an ou shoul not go. Remember, goohaar perception is as much about recognising when to sta as when to go. As

note in the section title How the Haar Perception Test wors, the HPT ma

present ou with some situations where it is not sae to turn, oertae or cross anintersection. It is thereore important to recognise sae an unsae gaps in traic.

for eample, in the picture below, the gap is too small or the rier to saelcomplete a right turn. Woul ou agree?

Selecting safe gaps


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5

Selecting sae gaps is a e part o eeloping haar perception sills.

kEy POINTS SUMMARy: SELECTING SAfE GAPS

A gap is safe where ou can turn, overtake, change lanes or cross an intersection: Withoutimpactingonthecrashavoidancespaceof others.

Withoutotherroadusershavingtoslowdownorchangelanes.

If agapisnotlargeenough,dontgowaittillitissafe.

GUIdELINES fOR SAfE GAP SELECTION

Sae gaps ar with the roa conitions, the spee o the traic an the weather

conitions. It is iicult to proie har an ast rules, but this section will gie ousome guielines to help ou select sae gaps in traic.These guielines will coer:

Safegapswhenturningleftandright.

U-turning.

Safegapswhencrossingintersections.

Safegapswhenovertaking.

An guielines in this section will nee to be practise b ou in real traic. The

will be o little assistance to ou without practice. you will nee to aapt the

guielines to our own riing circumstances.

you need to tr the practice exercises that appear at the end of each section.


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Selecting sae gaps when turningMaing turns is oten iicult, particularl when the traic is hea. you nee to

watch or traic, an other roa users such as peestrians, to the ront, let an

right. The e haar perception sill, is selecting a gap that is big enough or ou tosael complete the turn. This is a sill that comes with practice.

Sae gaps turning letLet turns seem less complicate than right turns as ou o not nee to loo or

traic approaching in two irections. Howeer, let turns are sharper than rightturns an ma tae longer to complete. you also nee time to accelerate to match

the spee o the traic on the roa that ou are entering. The aster the traic, the

more time ou will nee to accelerate to match the traic spee.

Gap selection or let han turns is a sill that taes time an practice to eelop.But here are some guielines that ma help. I ou are turning let in a 60 m/h

one ou will nee a gap o at least si secons between our car an ehiclesapproaching rom the right.

Asixsecondgapmeansthatyoucouldcountfromonethousandandonethroughtoonethousandandsixbeforeavehiclefromtherightwouldbelevelwithyour

car.Ofcourse,youneedtobeabletojudgewhatthisdistancelookslikeasyoucantuse this counting tool when tring to mae a let han turn.

Choose a sae gap so other ehicles are not orce to change spee.

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All riers shoul be looing or gaps that are at least si secons. This is shown

in the ollowing picture. A si secon gap at 60 m/h is the same as a istance oabout 100 metres.

If youdonthaveagapof atleastthissizeina60km/hzone,itwouldnotbesafeto go. In higher spee ones the gap that ou will nee will be the same in time, but

longer in istance. for eample, in an 80 m/h one where the traic is traelling at80km/hasixsecondgapequalsabout135metres.

A wor o caution. These are guielines onl, not har an ast rules. you will neeto buil our gap selection sills to establish what a sae gap loos lie to ou when

ou are riing.

Be careul o large hea ehicles isplaing a dO NOT OvERTAkETURNING vEHICLE sign as the ma use more than one lane when

turning let or right. I ou put our ehicle in the path o a large turning

ehicle ou ma be crushe.

I a ehicle isplas the dO NOT

OvERTAkE TURNING vEHICLE sign,ou must not pass the ehicle on the sie to

which it is turning.

kEy POINTS SUMMARy: SAfE GAPS TURNING LEfT

Whenturningleftina60km/hzoneyouneedatleastagapof sixsecons (about 100 metres) between our car an ehicles approaching rom

the right.

If agapisnotlargeenough,dontgoyouneedtowaituntilitissafe.


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Sae gaps turning rightRight turns are more complicate than let turns because ou nee to loo or traic

approaching rom the let an right. you ma also nee to gie wa to peestrians.

At an uncontrolle intersection (our wa intersection with no Stop or Gie Wasigns) ou ma also hae to watch or approaching traic.

fEATURES Of RIGHT TURNS

Right turns are generall less sharp than let turns. While ou hae to coer more

roadtocompletearightturn,itisshallowersoyoucangenerallyacceleratequitequickly.Thisisnecessarybecauseyouneedtoquicklymatchthespeedof thetraffic

on the roa that ou are entering. As with let turns, the aster the traic, the moretime an space ou nee to complete a right turn.

GUIdELINES fOR RIGHT TURNS

Gap selection or right turns is a sill that will tae time an practice to eelop.Here are some guielines to help.

I ou are turning right in a 60 m/h one ou will nee a gap o at least our

secons between our car an ehicles approaching rom the right, but a gap o at

least si secons rom the let. The picture below illustrates this.

Youneedasmallergapontherightbecauseyouwillmorequicklyclearthetraffic

approaching rom the right. But ou nee a bigger gap on the let because ou neetime to complete the turn on the ar sie o the roa an accelerate to the spee o

the traic. Because it will tae ou at least three secons to get to the other sie othe roa, a si secon gap to the let allows ou three secons or accelerating to the

spee o the stream spee o traic ou are entering.

Six seconds

Four seconds

Choose a sae gap so other ehicles are not orce to change spee.


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TURNING RIGHT AT A CROSS INTERSECTION

Turning right at a cross intersection (ie one with our irections) with oncomingtraic an traic rom the right an let, is harer. you will nee to loo three was

to juge a sae gap to the ront an the let an right. As shown in the picturebelow, ou are also liel to be acing a Stop or Gie Wa sign.

In this situation ou nee at least a our secon gap to the right, at least a si secon

gap to the let an at least a our secon gap to the ront.

Gap selection sills tae time an practice to eelop. Start with simpler gapselections an wor up to the more comple ones when ou eel conient.

TURNING RIGHT AT TRAffIC LIGHTS

Maing a right turn at traic lights is simpler than at an uncontrolle intersection (ieone without traic lights, Stop signs or Gie Wa signs). you onl hae to loo or

a sae gap in the traic that is approaching ou. Howeer, man proisional riershae crashes when turning right at traic lights. This is because the pic gaps that

are too small or misjuge the spee o the approaching traic.

I ou are turning right at traic lights in a 60 m/h one ou will nee a gap o

at least our secons (about 70 metres) between our car an approaching ehicles.


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The picture below shows what a 4 secon gap (about 70 metres in a

60km/hzone)wouldlooklikefromadriverseyeview.

GUIdELINES, NOT RULES

As with other turns, these are guielines onl, not har an ast rules. you will nee

to buil our gap selection sills so ou now what a sae gap loos lie to ou whenou are turning right.

kEy POINTS SUMMARy: SAfE GAPS TURNING RIGHT

When turning right in a 60 m/h one ou nee gaps o at least the ollowing:

Foursecondstotheright(about70metres).

Sixsecondstotheleft(about100metres).

Foursecondstothefront(about70metres) where there is oncoming traic.

If agapisnotlargeenough,dontgoyouneedtowaituntilitissafe.


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PRACTICE ExERCISES: SAfE GAPS WHEN TURNING RIGHT

Selecting sae gaps when turning right is harer than turning let or crossing anintersection. The ollowing practice eercises will help ou with this. The will also

help ou eelop haar perception sills to appl to other gap selection tass.

Learning how to juge what a sae gap loos lie in traic nees practice. It can also

be angerous, so tae care. Be careul an allow room or error as it can be eriicult to juge the approach spee o some ehicles.

STEP 1

fin a T intersection on a bus arterial (main) roa in a 60 m/h one where man

cars turn right onto the bus roa. Par our car somewhere sae an wal to the

intersection. Stan on the ootpath where ou can see the right turning ehicles anthe approaching traic on the bus roa.

Watch the traic on the bus roa approaching rom the right an let. B counting

onethousandandone,onethousandandtwoandsoon,workoutwhereasix

secon gap woul start to the let. Select an object (eg a power pole, bus stop ortree) to mar this spot.

do the same or traic approaching rom the right, but count to our secons, not

si.

Now watch the riers turning right rom the sie street onto the bus roa watch

at least 10 to get a goo eel or it. When o the go? do man go insie the saegap guielines?

Thin about when ou woul go i ou were in our car waiting to turn right at thatintersection. Woul ou hae accepte or rejecte the gaps taen b other riers?

STEP 2

Using the same intersection, as an eperience rier who ou trust to mae about

si right han turns with ou in the passenger seat. The other rier shoul hae aull licence an, i possible, at least ie ears license riing eperience.

Without interrupting or distracting the driver, note when ou would have gone and

discuss this with the driver later when ou have stopped somewhere safe. How much

did the two of ou agree? Who accepted the smaller gaps, ou or the more experienced

driver? Were there an pedestrians?

discuss with the more eperience rier wh the went when the i an howthe juge the gap was sae.


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STEP 3

Using the same intersection, as an eperience rier who ou trust to sit in thepassenger seat while ou mae about si right han turns.

The person in the passenger seat shoul note when the woul hae gone aniscuss this with ou later, when ou hae stoppe somewhere sae. The shoul

not interrupt or istract ou when ou are riing. How much agreement was there?Who accepte the smaller gaps, ou or the more eperience rier? Were there an

peestrians?

discuss with the more eperience rier wh ou went when ou i an how ou

juge the gap was sae.

STEP 4follow Steps 1-3 or gap selections in other spee ones. you shoul practise gapselection an compare notes with seeral more eperience riers who ou trust.

do this until ou are conient that ou can mae consistentl sae gap selectionswhen turning right at T intersections when acing a Stop or Gie Wa sign.

STEP 5

When ou eel conient, repeat steps 1-4 or turns at our wa intersections where

ou nee to juge sae gaps to the ront, let an right an are acing a Stop or Gie

Wa sign.


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Sae gaps maing U-turnsU-turns are more complicate than right turns as ou nee to loo or traic

approaching rom behin ou an traic coming towars ou. U-turns all just

outsie the ie most common crash tpes or NSW proisional riers. Howeer,some aice on coping with them is inclue as the are obiousl haarous or

new riers.

fEATURES Of U-TURNS

U-turns are sharper than right turns. you hae to coer more roa to complete theU-turn. Because it is a er tight turn, usuall rom a stationar (stan still) position,

yougenerallycantacceleratequicklyuntilyouhavecompletedtheturn.Thereforeou nee to be sure the gap is long enough to let ou get up to the spee o thestream o traic ou are entering. As with other turns, the aster the traic, the

more time an space ou will nee to complete a U-turn.

A WORd Of CAUTION

U-turns are iicult an potentiall angerous, particularl on bus, high speeroads.UnlessyoureallyhavetomakeaU-turn,dont.Analternativeistodoaright

turnintoasidestreet,makeathree-pointturnwhereitisquieterandsafer,thenturn let bac onto the roa ou let.

kEy POINTS SUMMARy: SAfE GAPS U-TURNS

U-turnscanbedifficultanddangerous.

If itisdangeroustodoaU-turn,dontdoathree-pointturninasidestreet

instea.


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Sae gaps when crossing intersectionsAlmost hal o proisional rier crashes happen at intersections. Selecting sae

gaps when crossing intersections is an important haar perception sill.

fEATURES Of CROSSING INTERSECTIONS

Crossing intersections can be almost as complicate as maing a right turn. you

nee to loo or traic approaching rom the let an right an loo out oroncoming traic that ma be turning right. Most o the time ou will be acing a

Gie Wa or Stop sign as shown in the net picture. This means that the tas canbe er emaning, particularl when the roa that ou are crossing is bus an the

trafficistravellingquickly.

3 seconds

50 metres

4 seconds

70 metres

Not to scale

from a stationar (stan still) position it taes at least three secons to cross a

tpical intersection on a two-wa roa. This means that ou nee at least a three

secon gap (about 50 metres in a 60 m/h one) between our car an ehiclesapproaching rom the right. you will also nee a bigger gap, at least our secons

(about 70 metres in a 60m/h one), or traic on our let to allow ou to cross theintersection in saet an not cause the cross traic to slow own or change lanes.

These gaps are illustrate in the preious picture.


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you ma nee less time to cross the intersection i our car is alrea moing. This

ma be the case when ou are approaching a Gie Wa sign at an intersection ancan procee across without stopping. Howeer, tae care. It is iicult to juge our

spee an that o other traic rom the let an right. I in oubt, stop an onlcross the intersection when ou are sure the gap is big enough.

Where there is a meian strip, ou ma be able to cross the intersection in

two stages i the traic is hea. Select a sae gap to the right an moe to

the mile o the roa protecte b the meian. When there is a sae gap

rom the let, complete the crossing.

GUIdELINES, NOT RULES

These are guielines onl, not har an ast rules. you will nee to buil our gap

selection sills so ou now what a sae gap loos lie to ou when ou are crossingan intersection.

kEy POINTS SUMMARy:SAfE GAPS WHEN CROSSING INTERSECTIONS

When crossing a tpical intersection in a 60 m/h one, ou nee gaps o at leastthe ollowing:

Threesecondstotheright(about50metres).

Foursecondstotheleft(about70metres).

If agapisnotbigenough,dontgoyouneedtowaituntilitissafe.


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Sae gaps when oertaingOertaing other ehicles can be haarous, particularl on high-spee, two-wa

roas. I ou misjuge the gap neee to oertae sael ou coul collie hea-

on with an oncoming ehicle. Hea-on crashes are usuall er seere because thespee o our car combines with that o the other. for eample, a hea-on crash

where both cars are traelling at onl 60 m/h gies a collision spee o 120 m/h.Thisistheequivalentof drivingintoastationaryobjectat120km/h.

you also nee enough space to aoi colliing with the ehicle that ou areoertaing. Selecting sae gaps or oertaing is a e haar perception sill that

taes time an practice to eelop.

Oertaing is similar to, but not the same as passing other ehicles on multi-lane

highwas, reewas or arterial roas. It is much harer an ar more angerous.When oertaing on a two-wa roa ou nee to cross the centreline an trael on

the wrong sie o the roa.

A WORd Of CAUTION

The ecision to oertae or not oertae another ehicle is our own. Most o the

time ou oertae to maintain the spee at which ou want to trael. Howeer,sometimes ou will nee to oertae or pass stationar or broen own ehicles.

The best thing to remember about oertaing is not to o it unless ou reall hae

to.

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fEATURES Of OvERTAkING

The iicult with oertaing is juging whether the gap between our car anan oncoming ehicle is large enough or ou to sael pull out, pass the ehicle

an pull in again. your iew o oncoming traic ma be bloce i the ehicle tobe oertaen is large (such as a truc or bus). This maes oertaing een morehaarous. you also nee to accelerate to pass the ehicle being oertaen. Putting

all o this together can be iicult. Man proisional riers hae little eperience inoertaing other ehicles, particularl on two-wa roas in 100 m/h spee ones.

Other things that aect oertaing are the sie o the ehicle ou want to pass, an

how well our own ehicle can accelerate. for eample, oertaing a car taes lesstime than oertaing a truc, particularl a semi-trailer or roa train.

As the ollowing picture shows, a truc or bus can be up to three times longer thanour car. Semi-trailers can be up to ie times longer an roa trains up to nine times

longer!

4.5 metres 12.5 metres 19 metres

Relatie sies o ehicles.


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Acarthatcannotacceleratequicklywillalsotakelongertoovertakeanothervehicle.

Rememberthatyourcarsabilitytoaccelerateisgenerallyreducedathigherspeeds.

GUIdELINES fOR SELECTING SAfE GAPS fOR OvERTAkING

It is not possible to proie irm guielines or oertaing. This is becauseoertaing is such a comple tas. When ou are oertaing ou hae to be able to

tae into account:

Thetrafficconditions.

Thesizeofthevehicleyouwanttoovertake.

Thepower/accelerationcapacityof thecaryouaredriving.

The best approach is or ou to learn what a sae oertaing gap loos lie or ouan our car.

To achiee this ou will nee to wor our wa through the practice eercises below.

you will notice that the practice eercises start with passing other ehicles on multi-

lane roas such as reewas or iie roas. This is to ease ou into the gapselectionskillsrequiredforovertakingandminimisetherisktoyouandotherroad

users.

Remember,if youdontfeelconfidentaboutovertakingorfeelthatitwouldbeunsafe,dontdoit.

PRACTICE ExERCISES: SAfE GAPS fOR OvERTAkING

STEP 1

PASSING OTHER vEHICLES ON MULTI-LANEd ROAdS

fin a roa in a 60, 70 or 80 m/h spee one with two lanes in each irection. Tr

to in one that has seeral ilometres o airl straight roa where ou can easil

see approaching traic. A street irector ma be useul in ining a section o roalie this.

In ine weather an in alight, go to this section o roa. Tr to aoi pea times

as the traic is liel to be moing slowl.

drie in the let lane an start to come up behin a ehicle that is traelling below

the spee limit. Moe up to a three secon ollowing istance behin the slowerehicle. When it is sae, inicate an moe to the right han lane, pass the slower

ehicle then inicate an return to the let lane in ront o the ehicle.

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Practise timing how long it taes to perorm this passing tas on the multi-lane

roa until ou can consistentl estimate our passing time. Practise passing ehicleso ierent sies, particularl trucs time this in the same wa as ou i or

passing cars. you will in that it taes ou much longer to pass.

STEP 2

ESTIMATING SAfE GAPS TO ONCOMING vEHICLES ON A MULTI-LANEd

ROAd

When it is sae, trael at the spee limit on the same mult i- lane roa,

(in alight an goo weather) an select an oncoming ehicle. B counting, one

thousandandoneandsoon,workouthowlongittakesforthatvehicletodrawleel with an pass our car. The tas is shown in the picture below.

Once ou hae trie this seeral times, select seeral more oncoming ehicles an

estimate how long it will tae or them to reach our car. Then count one thousanan one, one thousan an two an so on, an compare our estimate with the


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actual number o secons counte. Practise this until ou can consistentl estimate

how long it will tae an oncoming ehicle to reach ou, within one secon accurac.

STEP 3

SIMULATING THE OvERTAkING TASk

you hae now practise separatel the two main parts o oertaing. It is now time

to combine them to simulate what it woul be lie to oertae a ehicle on a two-

wa roa with oncoming traic.

from Step 1 ou now how long it taes or ou to pass a slower ehicle in aparticular spee one. for eample, i it too 12 secons rom when ou irst

inicate until ou moe bac to the let lane, then 12 secons is the minimum

time that ou nee to oertae a ehicle traelling at that spee in that spee one.

Using this eample, ou nee to a a saet margin o at least three secons to gieou the minimum time gap ou nee between our car an an oncoming ehicle iou want to oertae a slower ehicle in this spee one on a two-wa, uniie

roa. The two components o a sae oertaing gap are shown in the picture.

Now estimate the minimum sae time gap or ou to oertae sael. Tae thepassing time ou hae alrea wore out in Step 1 an a a margin o three

secons.

Use the same roa that ou hae practise steps 1 an 2 on. drie in the let lane

an start coming up behin a ehicle that is traelling at just below the spee limit.Moe up to a three secon ollowing istance behin the slower ehicle.

Watch the approaching traic an loo or a time gap that ou thin woul be largeenough or ou to sael pass the slower ehicle beore the approaching ehicle

raws leel with our car. Pull out, pass the ehicle an return to the let lane. Checour estimate against our actual perormance. di ou manage to complete the

passing tas beore the approaching ehicle was within three secons o our car?


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Practise this tas until ou can consistentl ienti a sae time gap between our car

an an approaching ehicle an complete the simulate oertaing tas with at leastthree secons to spare.

STEP 4

ExTENdING THE LESSONS Of STEPS 1-3

The sills that ou hae learne an applie in steps 1-3 can be applie to other

spee ones. you ma wish to practise steps 1-3 on a iie 100 m/h roa toensure that ou hae got a goo grasp o gap selection or sae oertaing.

What ou hae learne rom steps 1-3 can also be applie to oertaing on narrower

two-wa, uniie roas in built-up an rural areas. Howeer, there is less marginor error on these roas. That is, ou are in more anger i ou mae a mistae.

I ou hae not oertaen on a two-wa uniie roa beore, ou ma want toobsere a more eperience rier that ou trust o this irst.

Thebesttwo-way,undividedroadstopractiseovertakingonarequieterroadsin60m/h ones. It is also best to use roas that are broaer than local, suburban streets

an hae ew cars pare along them.

Remember,if youdontfeelconfidentaboutovertakingorfeelthatitwouldbe

unsafe,dontdoit.


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kEy POINTS SUMMARy: SAfE GAPS WHEN OvERTAkING

Asafeovertakinggapisyourovertakingtimeplusasafetymarginofatleastthree secons.

If itdoesntlookorfeelsafetoovertake,thendontdoityouneedtowait

until it is sae.

you are not allowe to ecee the spee limit when oertaing.

Proisional P1 maimum spee is 90 m/h.

On countr roas an highwas there are oten oertaing lanes at regular

interals to allow ou to sael oertae. These areas will be signposte inaance an inicate the istance to the area.


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Scanning is a e haar perception sill that riers nee to useto aoi crashes. you nee to scan constantl or haars whenou rie.

WHAT dOES SCANNING MEAN?

Scanning means taing in the whole scene 360 egrees aroun our car. Eectiescanning means constantl moing our ees an/or our hea when riing so that

ou can etect haars that ma arise ahea, to the sies an behin our ehicle.Research shows that new riers are not goo at scanning. The ten to ocus on

the roa just ahea o their car. The goo news is that new riers get better atscanning with practice.

This section aims to help ou become better at scanning so that ou can etecthaars beore the become a problem or ou an other roa users.

HOW TO SCAN fOR HAzARdS WHEN dRIvING

To scan eectiel ou nee to moe our ees, our hea an perhaps our upper

bo to get a goo iew o what is going on right roun our car. The picture below

shows that ou nee a 360 egrees iew (a ull circle).

This means that ou nee to loo out o the winscreen an the sie winows tosee what is coming up ahea an to the sies. you also nee to use our mirrors to

seewhatisbehindyou.Butyourmirrorscantcoverallof theviewbehind.You

alwas hae blin spots areas not coere b our mirrors. To chec our blinspots ou nee to turn our hea an loo out the sie winows.

Blin spots will be ierent on each ehicle that ou rie. vehicles such as ans or

trucs oten hae more blin spots than passenger cars.

Checing the blin spots with a hea chec (where ou loo oer our shouler tothe sies an rear) is ital when ou want to change lanes or when reersing.

Scanning for hazards


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A scanning routineEperience riers constantl scan or haars when riing. The o it

automaticall. To help ou become better at scanning or haars, here is a goo

routine to eelop.

LOOk UP TO 12 SECONdS AHEAd

In a 60 m/h one this means looing up to 200 metres ahea; on a reewa at90 m/h it is up to 300 metres. Scanning this ar ahea gies ou a chance to spot

haars that are shaping up well in aance (eg a broen own truc, an accient,the roa narrowing to one lane). you will also hae time to aoi them.

In hea traic, ou ma not be able to loo 12 secons ahea. But ou are liel tobe traelling more slowl which helps mae up or this.

Scanning ar enough ahea ma mean looing through the winows o ehiclesahea o ou to see what is happening. B oing this ou will now in aance i a

car ahea is braing as ou will see the brae lights come on seeral cars ahea. Thisgies ou more time to brae i ou hae to. Scanning means that ou are not just

looing at the ehicle immeiatel in ront o ou.

Looing ahea also means scanning rom sie to sie or haars on the roasie

or at intersections. Haars ma be pare cars, cclists or peestrians. Eectiescanning means eeping our ees an/or our hea moing an not concentrating

on just one spot.

Blind spot area

Chec blin spots beore changing our roa position.


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Blind spot area

Blind spot area

do not rie in the blin spot o other ehicles.

Blind spot area

All ehicles hae a large blin spot behin them. Because o this blin spot, etra care must be taen when

reersing as small chilren can be out o iew.

CHECk yOUR MIRRORS EvERy 810 SECONdS

Things change behin an besie ou when ou rie. Unless ou chec our

mirrorsyouwontknowif someoneisdoingsomethingsuchastryingtoovertake

orif thereisapolicecarorambulancecomingupquickly.

CHECk yOUR BLINd SPOTS.

Scanning ahea an checing our mirrors is usuall enough when ou are riingin the same lane without turning or changing lanes. Howeer, i ou nee to turn or

moe right or let, ou nee to now what is in the blin spots. Hea checs enableou to chec our blin spots.


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kEy POINTS SUMMARy: A SCANNING ROUTINE

Scanupto12secondsahead.

Checkyourmirrorsevery810seconds.

Checkyourblindspotswithaheadcheckbeforeyouturnordiverge.

This scanning routine is shown in this picture.

Scan up to 12seconds ahead

Check your

mirrors every

8-10 seconds

Check yourblind spots

your scanning routine nees to be constantl repeate as ou rie. O course i

ou etect a haar an nee to eal with it, this will be our irst priorit. But once

this has passe, ou nee to return to our scanning routine.


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Smart scanningWhen ou are scanning, there is a lot to loo at, a lot to tae in. It woul be

impossible to loo at eerthing that ou see in etail. you nee to be smart about

the wa ou scan or haars. This means sorting or iltering what is important romeerthing that is happening. Here are some was to mae our scanning smarter.

LOOk fOR CHANGE

your ision is esigne to pic up moement an change, not what stas the same.

This means that moing haars ma be easier to spot than stationar ones lie roawors or pare ehicles. This can be a problem because ou can get istracte b a

ast moing haar (eg a police car coming towars ou) an miss a stationar onethat ma be o more immeiate concern (eg a pare truc blocing our lane). younee to loo or both moing an stationar haars.

POLICE


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A haar perception action planThrough scanning an haar perception ou are tring to:

See roa haars (eg peestrian waiting to cross the roa ahea).

Thinkabout what might happen (eg peestrian might wal in ront o our car).

Thinkabout possible solutions (eg slow own, change lanes or increase space

between our car an peestrian, soun horn).

Do something to remain sae (eg slow own an gie the peestrian more space).

This haar perception process can be summarise as:

See Think

Do

Scanningistheseepartof theprocess.Understandingthatthesethreestepsarethe basis o goo haar perception can be helpul.

Of course,allof thistakesplaceveryquickly,sometimesinonlyafewseconds.This is wh ou nee to practise in real traic so that haar perception sills lie

scanning become automatic.

LISTENING fOR HAzARdS

While riing is mainl a isual tas, listening can also help etect haars. foreample, ou can oten hear a siren beore ou actuall see an emergenc ehicle lie

an ambulance. Another eample is motorccles the can be har to see, but thesoun o an engine can let ou now there is one nearb.

To help ou listen or haars, it is goo not to hae the raio or stereo too lou

when ou are riing.


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AvOIdING fATIGUE

fatigue (being tire an losing concentration) reuces our abilit to etect anrespon to haars. Research shows that the more atigue riers are, the more

haars the miss an the more liel the are to crash.

Youdonthavetodrivelongdistancestogetfatigued.Workinglonghours,partying

har an not getting enough sleep can mae ou atigue. The onl eectie wa toavoidfatigueistogetplentyof sleep.Freshair,coffeeandloudmusicwontwork.

do not rie at times when ou woul normall be asleep. Commencing a triplate at night or earl in the morning, or riing through these hours, can be er

angerous. I ou o rie long istances, tae regular rest breas at least eer two

hours.

for inormation on managing atigue see our website or the Road Users Handbook.

kEy POINTS SUMMARy: SCANNING fOR HAzARdS

Scanningmeanstakinginthewholescene360degreesaroundyourcarincluing an blin spots.

Youneedtoscanconstantlyforhazardswhenyoudrivelookandlistenfor

haars.

Useascanningroutine:

Loo up to 12 secons ahea at 60 m/h this is about 200 metres, at 90

m/h about 300 metres.

Loo or change an moement in the traic scene.

Chec our mirrors eer 8-10 secons

outsie an insie mirrors.

Chec our blin spots with a hea chec beore turning or

ierging right or let.

Rememberthehazardperceptionactionplan:See (haars).

Think(about what might happen an what to o).Do (something to sta sae).

Avoidfatiguefatigueandtirednessreduceyourhazardperceptionskills.


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PRACTICE ExERCISES SCANNING fOR HAzARdS

1. BLINd SPOTS ON yOUR CAR

As someone to help ou chec where the blin spots are on our car. With the carpare sael at the roasie or in a riewa, chec that our mirrors are ajuste

properl. Roll own the winows. As our assistant to wal er slowl aroun thecar.Watchcarefullyinthemirrors,butdontturnyourhead.Callstopwhenyour

assistant isappears rom iew. Ajust our mirrors again an see i ou can reucethe blin spot area an still get a goo iew o the roa behin. Repeat the process

with our assistant again. di ou manage to reuce the blin spots?

Repeat the process again. When our assistant is in a blin spot, tr turning our

hea to o a hea chec. Can ou see them or oes part o the car still bloc them?

Once ou hae complete this process, ou will now where the blin spots are

on our car an how large the are. you will also now to what etent hea checscompensate or them.

2. SCANNING ROUTINE

Practise the scanning routine summarise in this section. Start with:

Scanupto12secondsahead.

Checkyourmirrorsevery810seconds.

Checkyourblindspotswithaheadcheckbeforeyouturn,mergeordiverge.

Tr it with the ehicle stationar at the sie o the roa. When ou are conient

that ou hae the routine wore out, tr it in arious spee ones. Start with 50km/h,thenprogresstofasterspeedzones.Startonquieterroadsthenprogressto

busier ones.

Usingtheone-thousandandone,one thousandandtwocountingtechnique,

practise estimating what scanning 12 secons ahea loos lie at arious spees.

you ma be surprise at how ar ahea ou nee to loo.

3. COMPARING NOTES ON SCANNING

As an eperience rier who ou now an trust to help ou with this practice

eercise. This person shoul hae a ull licence an hae been riing or at least10 ears.


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Map out a circular route through a nearb built-up area that will tae ou about 510

minutes to complete. Inclue traic lights, Stop signs an areas where ou are lielto come across other roa users such as peestrians.

As our eperience assistant to rie the circular route, with ou traelling in thepassenger seat. Scan the roa as though ou are riing. As our assistant ries the

circular route, as them to tell ou where the are looing, what the are looingatandwhattheyconsidertobehazards.QuestionslikeWhatareyouseeing?and

Whatareyougoingtodonow?mightbeappropriate.

Thistechniqueiscalledcommentarydrivingandisusedbydrivertrainersandsome

licence eaminers to in out where a rier is looing, what haars the are seeingan what the plan to o about them. It might be a bit iicult or ou an our

assistant to o at irst, but it gets easier with practice.

Aretheylookingatthesamethingsasyou?Dotheyspothazardsthatyoudont?

do ou agree on what ma be haars? di the respon to haars in the wa thatou woul hae?

When our assistant has inishe riing the route, stop somewhere sae an talabout it.

Once ou hae tale about how ou an the other rier scanne or haars, swap

positions so that ou are riing. This time rie the route in the opposite irection.As our assistant to scan the roa as though the are riing. As ou rie alongthe route tell them where ou are looing, what ou are looing at an what ou

consier to be haars.

Stop somewhere sae an compare notes. Are ou looing at the same things as our

assistant?Doyouspothazardsthatyourassistantdoesnt?Doyouagreeonwhatma be haars? di ou respon to haars in the wa our assistant woul hae?

Thistechniqueof comparingyourscanningwithamoreexperienceddriverisavery

useul learning tool. Tr it with a range o other riers who ar in age an riingeperience. Use it oten to buil an reine our scanning sills. you can neer getenough scanning practice.


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7Important situations

Haar perception sills are important no matter where anwhen ou rie. The nee or them neer goes awa. There aresome situations where haar perception sills are particularl

ital or our saet an that o other roa users.

These situations ma not speciicall igure in the ie most common crash tpes orproisional riers (see ie most common crash tpes or proisional riers), but

the are still important. This section summarises these.

IMPORTANT HAzARd PERCEPTION SITUATIONS

As a relatiel new rier it is important that ou learn to hanle the ollowingsituations when riing:

Pedestriansonorneartheroad.

Cyclists.

Motorcyclists.

Dealingwithtrucksandbuses.

Negotiatingroadworks.

Crashesandbreakdownsinvolvingothervehiclesorroadusers.

Emergencyvehicles.

Animalsonorneartheroad.

COPING WITH THESE SITUATIONS

Copingwiththesesituationsdoesnotrequireanynewsetof hazardperception

NSW RMS Hazard Perception Handbook

Documents

Transcript of NSW RMS Hazard Perception Handbook