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Page 1: Hazard Perception Test - sydneydriving.comsydneydriving.com/images/hptbook.pdf · have good hazard perception skills. ... the Hazard Perception Test works on p 12. ... straight section
Page 2: Hazard Perception Test - sydneydriving.comsydneydriving.com/images/hptbook.pdf · have good hazard perception skills. ... the Hazard Perception Test works on p 12. ... straight section

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Foreword

When you were a learner driver, it might haveseemed that driving was all about steering thecar, changing gears, using the indicators andknowing the road rules. While these areimportant, to stay safe as a solo driver you alsoneed to be able to detect and react to anyhazards that might arise when you are driving.

A hazard is any possible danger that might leadto an accident. This includes pedestrianscrossing the road, roadworks, broken-downvehicles and other cars stopping ahead of you orentering from side roads.

There are many hazards out there on the roads.Good and safe drivers know how to recogniseand respond to hazards. They know how to spotthem in time to take actions that will avoidaccidents. They know these things because theyhave good hazard perception skills.

The Hazard Perception Handbook has beenproduced to assist you in developing yourhazard perception skills and to drive more safely.

Paul ForwardChief ExecutiveRoads and Traffic AuthorityNew South Wales

RTA Cat. No. 45070932ARTA ABN: 64 480 155 255

July 2001

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Table of Contents

Part One: Background information

Introduction 5

Hazards and hazard perception 5Developing hazard perception skills 5The Hazard Perception Test (HPT) 6Why the HPT? 7Use this Handbook to help you 8

Crash patterns of provisional drivers in NSW 9

Five most common crash types for provisional drivers 9Where and when these crashes happen 10Comparison with full licence holders 10Why are provisional drivers more involved in crashes? 10Avoiding crashes 11

How the Hazard Perception Test works 12

Where to take the HPT 12Language options 12When to take the HPT 12What happens when you get there 13Interacting with the HPT computer 13Audio/sound option 14

The sound button 14What you will see after the welcomescreen 14The test instructions 14The confirmation screen buttons 16After the confirmation screen 16The practice questions 16The real HPT questions 16The results and feedback screen 17If you fail the HPT 17Aiding and cheating during the HPT 18

Part Two: Developing and practisinghazard perception skills

Developing hazard perception skills 19

Cross referencing to the HPT website 21Links to other helpful RTA sites 21

Keeping a safe distance from othervehicles 22

The “space cushion” concept 22Maintaining a “space cushion” tothe front 22Controlling your speed 24Speed limits, speeding and crashes 24The problems with speed 24Speeding and crash severity 25Speed and single vehicle crashes 26

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A final word on speed 27Key points summary 27Practice exercise 28

Keeping a safe following distance 29

The “3 second rule” 29What a safe following distancelooks like 30Key points summary 31Practice exercises 31

Keeping a safe distance to the side 32

Avoid travelling next to other vehicles 32Key points summary 33

Keeping a safe distance to the rear 34

Key points summary 34

Selecting safe gaps 35

Importance of safe gap selection 35What is a safe gap? 35Key points summary 36

Guidelines for safe gap selection 37

Selecting safe gaps when turning 37Safe gaps – turning left 37

Key points summary 39

Safe gaps – Turning right 39Features of right turns 39Guidelines for right turns 40Turning right at a cross intersection 40Turning right at traffic lights 41Guidelines, not rules 41Key points summary 42Practice exercises 42

Safe gaps – Making U turns 44Features of U turns 44A word of caution 45Key points summary 45

Safe gaps when crossing intersections 45Features of crossing intersections 45Guidelines, not rules 46Key point summary 46

Safe gaps when overtaking 47A word of caution 48Features of overtaking 48Guidelines for selectingsafe gaps for overtaking 49Key points summary 53

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Scanning for hazards 54

What is scanning? 54How to scan for hazards when driving 54A scanning routine 55Summary of scanning routine 56Smart scanning 56Look for change 56A hazard perception action plan 57Listening for hazards 57Avoiding fatigue 58Key points summary 58Practice exercises 59

Situations where hazard perception isparticularly important 62

Important hazard perception situations 62Coping with these situations 62Pedestrians, cyclists & motorcyclists 63

Pedestrians 63Cyclists 64Motorcyclists 65

Trucks and buses 66Roadworks 67Crashes and breakdowns 67Emergency vehicles 68Animals on the road 69Key points summary 70Practice exercises 70

Expecting the unexpected 71

The role of expectancies 71The unexpected 71Expecting the unexpected 72Identifying the main hazard 72Key points summary 73Practice exercises 74

A few final words about hazard perception 75

Experience and practice themain teachers 75Summary of key hazard perception skills 75Practice, practice and more practice 76

Index 77

Glossary 79

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Introduction

Hazards and hazard perception

There are three basic hazard perception skillsthat good drivers use to stay safe:

• Keeping a safe distance from other vehicles.

• Selecting safe gaps when turning, crossingtraffic or changing lanes.

• Scanning for hazards ahead, behind and to the side.

Information on how to develop these key hazardperception skills and other useful safe drivingskills can be found in Part 2 of this Handbook(see section titled Part 2, p 19 onwards). For easyreference, the pages in Part 2 have an orangeborder. The headings relating to these 3 basichazard perception skills are shown in bold yellowin the book and the contents section.

Developing hazard perception skills

It takes time to develop hazard perception skills.The best way to achieve them is by gettingplenty of driving experience across lots ofdifferent driving situations. This is how moreexperienced drivers have developed their hazardperception skills. Because they have these skills,

NSW • 001premier state

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these drivers are involved in fewer crashes thanless experienced drivers (see section Why theHPT?, p 7).

The aim of this Handbook (and the companionHPT website at www.rta.nsw.gov.au/hpt.htm) isto help you develop hazard perception skills thatwill make you a safer driver and prepare you toundertake the Hazard Perception Test (HPT). Itwill also help make the road safer for other roadusers.

Because it takes time and practice to develophazard perception skills, you should be workingon them from the day that you get your P1licence. This Handbook (and the companion HPTwebsite at www.rta.nsw.gov.au/hpt.htm) will helpguide you.

The Hazard Perception Test (HPT)

The HPT is part of the new licensing scheme fornew drivers that commenced in NSW on 1 July2000. It involves a touch-screen computer-basedtest which measures your ability to recognisepotentially dangerous situations on the road andreact appropriately.

You must pass the HPT to progress from a P1 toa P2 licence. Information on the new licensingscheme for new drivers can be found in the RTA

booklet New Drivers’ Handbook which isavailable free from RTA Registeries. You can alsofind the information on the RTA website(www.rta.nsw.gov.au). A summary of how theHPT works and what to expect when you takethe test can be found at the section titled, Howthe Hazard Perception Test works on p 12.

You can also visit the HPT website for a moreinteractive explanation(www.rta.nsw.gov.au/hpt.htm).

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Why the HPT?

The aim of the HPT is to confirm that P1 drivershave enough hazard perception skills to“graduate” to the less restricted P2 licence.Research shows that HPT skills are important forsafe driving and that drivers with poor hazardperception skills usually have more crashes.Research also shows that screen-based hazardperception tests can detect drivers with a higherrisk of crash involvement.

The introduction of the HPT should help reducethe high crash involvement of young andinexperienced drivers in NSW. Currently, driversaged under 21 years are involved in about threetimes more crashes than those aged 21 years ormore. The graph following shows this clearly.

The HPT is based on the driving situations thatlead to the 5 most common crash types for NSWprovisional drivers. More information on thesecrash types may be found in the section Crashpatterns of provisional drivers in NSW (see p 9,10).

The purpose of the HPT is not to “pick on”young and inexperienced drivers. It is to helpreduce the high level of young driver crashes inNSW by:

• encouraging new drivers to develop hazardperception skills

• testing P1 drivers on driving situations thatare known to lead to the most common typesof crashes involving new drivers in NSW, and

• only allowing P1 drivers with adequatehazard perception skills to “graduate” to lessrestricted P2 status.

Drivers 17 – 20 yrs Drivers 21+ yrs

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Number of casualty crashes per10,000 drivers from 1996-1999

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Use this Handbook to help you

Use this Handbook (and the companion HPTwebsite at www.rta.nsw.gov.au/hpt.htm) to helpyou get to P2 licence status and become a saferdriver with sound hazard perception skills.

The first part of the Handbook (and HPT website)provides background about the HPT. For easyreference, the pages in Part 1 have a greenborder. The second part helps you develop andpractice hazard perception skills. The pages inPart 2 have an orange border.

There is also an index at the back of theHandbook to help you and a glossary to explainwords that you may not be familiar with. Theindex, glossary and content pages (at the front ofthe Handbook) all have red borders.

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Crash patterns of provisionaldrivers in NSW

Five most common crash types forprovisional drivers

Almost 90% of all NSW provisional drivercrashes fall within only 5 crash types:

• 25% involve the provisional driver’s vehiclecolliding with the rear of another vehicletravelling in the same direction.

• 19% involve colliding with other vehiclescoming from adjacent directions (generallyfrom the left or right), usually at intersections.

• 17% involve collisions with vehicles comingfrom the opposite direction (eg head oncollisions).

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• 14% involve running off the road on a curveor bend and hitting an object, such as a tree,a pole or a parked vehicle.

• 14% involve running off the road on astraight section and hitting an object, such asa tree, a pole or a parked vehicle.

Where and when these crashes happen

Most of these crashes occur in daylight in fineweather and on dry roads. They are also morecommon in built up areas in 60km/hour speedzones.

Comparison with full licence holders

When compared with more experienced NSWfull licence holders, provisional drivers havemore crashes:

• on local roads in 60km/h speed zones

• in darkness, and

• where their vehicle leaves the road onstraight sections or curves and collides withroadside objects such as trees or fences.

Provisional drivers are also more likely to be thedriver most responsible for the crash.

Why are provisional drivers moreinvolved in crashes?

The higher involvement of provisional drivers incrashes seems to be partly due to inexperiencebecause driving is a new skill. When we are newat anything (eg playing tennis or netball) we tendto make mistakes and not be as skillful as those

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with lots of experience.

However, new drivers also sometimes do thingsthat can increase their risk of crash involvement.These include:

• travelling too closely behind other vehicles

• driving too fast for the conditions

• not looking far enough ahead when driving

• choosing gaps that are too small whenmaking turns, crossing intersections orovertaking.

Avoiding crashes

If you are a provisional driver, it is important toknow what driving situations are mostdangerous for you. You can then identify theskills you need to practise so you can handlethese situations safely. Research shows that oneof the most important of these skills is soundhazard perception. This is why RTA hasintroduced the HPT for P drivers in NSW.

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How the Hazard Perception Test works

The HPT is a touch-screen computer-based test.It measures your ability to:

• recognise potentially dangerous situationswhen driving, and

• react appropriately to these situations.

This section of the Handbook explains how thetest works and what to expect when you take it.You can also visit the companion website(www.rta.nsw.gov.au/hpt.htm) for a moreinteractive introduction to the operation of theHPT.

Where to take the HPT

The HPT will be available at RTA Registries andagencies across NSW from 1 July 2001. Checkwith your nearest Registry, visit the RTA website(www.rta.nsw.gov.au) or telephone 13 2213 fordetails.

A fee is charged each time you sit the HPT.

You can make a booking to take the HPT bycalling the RTA on 13 2213 or going to a Registryor testing agency in your area.

Language options

You can take the test in English, Arabic, Chinese(Mandarin), Croatian, Greek, Korean, Serbian,Spanish, Turkish or Vietnamese.

Should you require the services of an interpreterfor other than the above community languages,you need to make arrangements with the MotorRegistry Manager at the time of booking yourtest.

When to take the HPT

You can attempt the HPT when you have had aminimum of 12 months’ experience on your P1licence. However, there is no hurry. You shouldonly attempt the HPT when you feel ready.Ready means that you have had sufficientdriving experience, have read this Handbookthoroughly and applied the information to yourdriving.

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Remember, you will be charged the HPT test feeeach time you sit the test.

What happens when you get there

When you go to an RTA Registry or testingagency to take the HPT, your licence details willbe checked. Your eligibility to sit for the test willalso be checked.

Once these checks have been made, you will beassigned to a test kiosk to take the test. A typicalkiosk is shown in the following picture. It issimply a special desk with a touch-screencomputer mounted on it.

At some testing agencies and in some regionalor remote areas, you may take the HPT on aportable or laptop computer. In these situationsthe HPT is exactly the same.

Interacting with the HPT computer

You do not need to understand computers totake the test. All interaction with the HPTcomputer is via the touch screen.

The first screen that you will see is the“Welcome” screen which is shown below. Whenyou have read the information on the screen youjust touch the screen to move to the next screen.

The structure of the test is:

• Welcome screen

• test instructions

• 2 practice items

• 15 test items

• feedback screen

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These parts of the test are explained below.

Audio/sound option

You can read the test instructions on the screen,and you can also have the instructions read toyou. If you choose to listen to the instructions,you need to advise the customer service officerat the counter before the test and you will begiven a set of headphones. You will then simplyneed to plug in the headphones to the base ofthe computer monitor. After the test, you mustreturn the headphones to the customer serviceofficer.

The sound button

There is a round green sound button markedwith a speaker symbol. This button turns thesound on or off during the test. You can use it at

any time. When the sound button is on, you willhear the information written on the screen.

What you will see after the welcomescreen

After the Welcome screen, the computer will takeyou through an introductory section that tellsyou about the test. This is followed by the testinstructions. You will also be given two practiceHPT questions before the actual test starts. Thiswill help you become familiar with the HPT andhow it operates.

The test instructions

The test instructions explain that the HPT ismade up of 15 test items (or questions). Theseare 15 film clips of real traffic situations that youwill be asked to respond to. These situations arebased on the most common crash types in whichprovisional drivers are involved (see 5 mostcommon crash types for provisional drivers on p 9,10).

In the film clips you see what the driver wouldsee. You are told what the driver wants to do (egturn or go straight ahead) and you touch thescreen if and when you think it would be safe todo it.

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For example, you might be shown the scene inthe following picture. The text on the screen (andthe voice on the sound support) might say:

You are driving along a 2-way street in a60km/hour speed zone. You wish to keepdriving straight ahead.Touch the screen when you would slow down

At the beginning of each HPT film clip you willbe told about the situation. This might be asshown in the picture above. To help youunderstand the situation, you will be shown astill picture for 3 seconds before the film clipstarts moving.

In each film clip the dashboard shows the speedat which you are travelling and if the indicatorsare operating.

During the film clip you will need to touch thescreen if and when you think an action isrequired. Actions may include such things asslowing down, overtaking or crossing anintersection.

If you think it would be unsafe to take any actionyou should not touch the screen. Just like whenyou are driving on a real road, the HPT mayshow you situations where it would be unsafe totake an action such as turning or overtaking.Therefore, you need to be able to decide whenyou can take an action and when it would besafer to do nothing.

If you touch the screen during a practice item oractual HPT item, you will hear a “dong” soundand the picture will flash. This indicates that thecomputer has recorded your response.

The film clip may run for another few seconds,but once you have heard the sound and seen theflash there is no need to touch the screen again.

If you did not touch the screen the clip willcontinue to play to the end and you will not hearthe sound or see any flash.

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The confirmation screen buttons

After each film clip, the two buttons shown inthe following picture appear on the screen.These let you confirm whether you did or did nottouch the screen during the HPT item.

After the confirmation screen

During the actual test, once you have confirmedyour response, a new test item will appear. Thisprocess will continue until you have completedthe test. At the end of the test a message on thescreen will tell you how you went.

The practice questions

The practice questions are just like the actual testquestions. However, after each practice questionyou will get feedback about your response andthe chance to repeat the question.

You will be told if your response was good,could have been better or was unsafe. If yourresponse was unsafe or in need of improvementyou can try that practice item again.

Once you have completed the two practicequestions, you will be asked to touch the screento show that you want to start the actual test.

The real HPT questions

Once you move on to the actual HPT, you will bepresented with 15 test items. These arerandomly selected from a larger pool ofquestions. You will only be allowed to see eachitem once and will not be able to change yourresponse to any item. This is just like real drivingwhere you only get one chance to respond to asituation.

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There is no feedback after each test item. Onceone item has finished the HPT will progress tothe next one until all 15 have been completed.

The results and feedback screen

When all 15 items have been completed, ascreen will appear advising you that you havefinished the test and to call a supervisor. Thesupervisor will then access the result screenwhich will tell you if you have passed or failed.You will not receive an individual score.

If you pass, you will also get feedback on areasthat should be improved (eg selecting safe gapswhen turning at intersections). You will also bedirected to the sections of this Handbook (andthe companion HPT website) that may help youto improve your skills. A pass screen might looklike this.

If you fail, you will get specific feedback on areasthat need to be improved before retaking theHPT (eg selecting safe following distance whentravelling behind other vehicles). You will also bedirected to the sections of this Handbook (andthe companion website) that will help you toimprove your skills. A printout of the results andfeedback screen can be obtained from theRegistry or agency staff. This may help you toprepare to resit the HPT. A fail screen might looklike this:

Congratulations, you have passed the HPT

However, your score suggests that you take particular care:• At intersections where you are turning right and where you need to

pick a safe gap in the oncoming traffic to complete your turn safely• In selecting a safe speed at which to drive through a curve or bend

You should also revisit the HPT Handbook and the HPT website atwww.rta.nsw.gov.au/hpt.htm to help you improve your skills in these

situations. It is suggested that you review the following sections of theHPT Handbook:

• Guidelines for Safe Gap Selection• Controlling Your Speed• Scanning for Hazards

Please return to the counter for further instructions

Congratulations, you have passed the HPT

However, your score suggests that you take particular care:• At intersections where you are turning right and where you need to

pick a safe gap in the oncoming traffic to complete your turn safely• In selecting a safe speed at which to drive through a curve or bend

You should also revisit the HPT Handbook and the HPT website atwww.rta.nsw.gov.au/hpt.htm to help you improve your skills in these

situations. It is suggested that you review the following sections of theHPT Handbook:

• Guidelines for Safe Gap Selection• Controlling Your Speed• Scanning for Hazards

Please return to the counter for further instructions

Unfortunately, you have not passed the HPT

Your score on the HPT shows that your hazard perception skills need to be improved in thefollowing situations:

• Selecting a safe speed at which to drive or when to slow down when approaching situations thatmay present hazards to you or other road users

• Deciding when it is safe or not safe to take driving actions such as making turns at intersections,overtaking other vehicles or when you should change speed when approaching situations that may

present hazards to you or other road users

To improve your skills you must review the following sections of the HPT Handbook:

• Guidelines for Safe Gap Selection• Controlling Your Speed• Scanning for Hazards

• Keeping a Safe Distance from Other Vehicles

Visiting the HPT website at www.rta.nsw.gov.au/hpt.htm may also be helpful

Unless you improve your hazard perception skills in the driving situations listed above you will notpass the HPT and not progress to a P2 licence

Please return to the counter for further instructions

Unfortunately, you have not passed the HPT

Your score on the HPT shows that your hazard perception skills need to be improved in thefollowing situations:

• Selecting a safe speed at which to drive or when to slow down when approaching situations thatmay present hazards to you or other road users

• Deciding when it is safe or not safe to take driving actions such as making turns at intersections,overtaking other vehicles or when you should change speed when approaching situations that may

present hazards to you or other road users

To improve your skills you must review the following sections of the HPT Handbook:

• Guidelines for Safe Gap Selection• Controlling Your Speed• Scanning for Hazards

• Keeping a Safe Distance from Other Vehicles

Visiting the HPT website at www.rta.nsw.gov.au/hpt.htm may also be helpful

Unless you improve your hazard perception skills in the driving situations listed above you will notpass the HPT and not progress to a P2 licence

Please return to the counter for further instructions

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If you fail the HPT

If you fail the HPT you may resit the test fromthe next working day. However, remember that afee will be charged each time you attempt thetest. It is suggested that you prepare carefullybefore resitting. Use this Handbook and thewebsite to help you, and pay special attention tothe areas mentioned on the feedback screen. Youmay also need to get more on-road practicebefore a resit. Don’t be in a hurry. Make sure youare ready before taking the test again.

Aiding and cheating during the HPT

It should be noted that you may not be assistedduring the HPT. The HPT is a test for individualdrivers to see if they are good enough to hold aP2 licence. All instances of cheating or attemptsto cheat will be treated seriously by RTA officials.Penalties, including prosecution, may beimposed on anyone who accepts aid or providesaid to HPT candidates during the test. At the veryleast you will not be allowed to resit the HPT for6 weeks.

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Part Two: Developing andpractising hazard perceptionskills

Developing hazard perception skills

If you have a P1 licence then you have alreadydeveloped some hazard perception skills.However, you need to develop these skills furtheras a solo driver because you are no longer undersupervision. You must be able to cope on yourown with all driving hazards that arise.

This part of the Handbook (Part Two, colourcoded orange) will help you do this. It aims tohelp you become a better and safer driver.

The basic hazard perception skills are:

• Keeping a safe distance from other vehicles

• Selecting safe gaps when turning, crossingtraffic or changing lanes

• Scanning for hazards ahead, behind and tothe side

The headings relating to these 3 basic hazardperception skills are shown in bold yellow in Part2 and in the contents section.

NSW • 001premier state

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Part Two will also help you apply these basicskills:

• when other road users such as pedestriansand cyclists are around, and

• when unexpected situations arise.

Each section in Part Two outlines a basic hazardperception skill area. This is followed by a keypoint summary and suggestions on how todevelop and practise this hazard perception skill.Remember that practice on the road is essentialto the development of sound hazard perceptionskills.

You will notice that the practice exercises oftenask you to get a friend or more experienceddriver who you trust to help you. A commonpattern for the practice exercises will be:

• you observe as a pedestrian,

• you then observe as a passenger with a moreexperienced driver at the wheel,

• you then try it with you as the driver.

This is to help make the exercises easier to learnand safer to do. Involving a more experienceddriver allows you to get some feedback fromdrivers who have more developed hazardperception skills.

You can’t learn them properly from a book or awebsite. It’s a bit like learning to play tennis orcricket, books and websites can help you, butyou need to get out there and practise todevelop and improve your skills.

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Cross referencing to the HPT website

Throughout Part Two there are cross-referencesto the HPT website (www.rta.nsw.gov.au/hpt.htm).If you have access to the web, you should visitthe website to help you learn about hazardperception skills and how to apply them.

You may find that something that is unclear toyou in this Handbook is easier to understand onthe HPT website. So use this Handbook and theHPT website together to help you develop andpractise the hazard perception skills needed tobe a safe driver and to help you prepare for theHPT.

Links to other helpful RTA sites

The HPT website also has links to other RTAmaterials and publications that may help you.For example, if you are a bit rusty on the roadrules, you might like to visit the road rules site(www.rta.nsw.gov.au) for some revision.

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Keeping a safe distance fromother vehicles

The “space cushion”concept

The more space that you have between your carand other vehicles, the more time you have todetect and respond to hazards that might arisewhen driving. Hazards could be other vehicleschanging lanes in front of you or the car aheadbraking suddenly to avoid a pedestrian whowalks onto the road.

To stay safe, you need to manage the spacearound your car to the front, sides and the rear.The best way to do this is to imagine an invisible“space cushion” around your car as shown inthe following picture.

As you drive along the road, this cushion needsto be maintained by adjusting your speed orposition on the road. For example, if the vehicleahead slows down, you will need to slow downtoo.

This section of the Handbook explains how youmaintain a safe “space cushion” around yourcar. It covers how to keep a safe distance to:

• the front

• the sides

• the rear.

You may also want to visit the companion HPTwebsite (www.rta.nsw.gov.au/hpt.htm) for amore interactive demonstration of the “spacecushion” concept.

Maintaining a “space cushion” to thefront

This is perhaps the most important part of the“space cushion” for provisional drivers. You mayremember that about 25% of NSW provisionaldriver crashes involve the P driver running intothe back of another vehicle. This is the mostcommon type of crash for P drivers (see 5 mostcommon crash types for provisional drivers, p 9,10).

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Maintaining a “space cushion” to the front alsogives you more time to spot other hazards thatmay arise.

To maintain an adequate “space cushion” to thefront you need to:

• control your speed to suit the road and trafficconditions

• keep a safe distance between your car andthe vehicle in front.

The next two sections help you learn how to dothis.

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Controlling your speed

Speed limits, speeding and crashing

Speed limit signs show the maximum speedpermitted on a particular road. This is not alwaysthe safest speed. Smart drivers adjust theirspeed to suit the traffic and road conditions.

After a few weeks or months of solo driving, it iseasy to think that exceeding the speed limit isOK. Many drivers seem to do it and not everyonegets caught by the police. But think about this.More than one third of all fatal crashes in NSWare speed related. No one forces you to speed.The choice is yours.

The problems with speed

The problem with speeding is that it cuts downthe time that you have to detect and respond tohazards that might come up in the traffic ahead.For example, in the following picture the red caris travelling at 70km/hour and the blue car at60km in a 60km/hour zone. When a trucksuddenly backs onto the road and blocks it, theblue car stops in time. But the red car hits thetruck because it needs 30% more distance tobrake to a stop from 70km/hour. So even10km/hour can make a big difference.

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travel at different speeds and the distance thatyou need to brake to a stop. The faster you go,the more distance you need to stop. You needeven more distance when the road is wet.

The distance that it takes to stop a car is longerthan most drivers think. Think about this. Itusually takes about:

• three-quarters of a second to see a hazardand make a decision (eg brake or don’t brake)

• another three-quarters of a second to takesome sort of action (eg get your foot from theaccelerator to the brake).

This means that about 1.5 seconds have passedbefore you even start braking! At 60km/hour youwill have travelled about 25 metres in this time –half the length of an Olympic swimming pool.

Speeding and crash severity

Speeding also adds to the severity of any crashthat you might be involved in. The risk of deathand injury increases many times over. The fasteryou drive, the harder you hit. All that speedenergy has to go somewhere. But you might notbe the person who is killed or injured. Forexample, if you hit a pedestrian at 60km/houryou will probably kill them. If you hit them at50km/hour they are more likely to be injured, butnot killed. This is one reason why the 50km/hourlocal speed limit has been introduced into manyparts of NSW.

200

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Stopping distances in wet and dry weather

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At 60km/h the blue car stops in time but at70km/h the red car hits the truck at 30km/h

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Each year about 3000 pedestrians are killed orinjured on NSW roads. Regrettably, provisionaldrivers are over-represented among drivers whohit pedestrians.

Speed and single vehicle crashes

Speed is a common cause of single vehiclecrashes involving P drivers. Put simply, many Pdrivers drive too fast for the conditions. Thisreduces their opportunity to detect and respondto hazards such as bends, road narrowings orrough surfaces. As a result some have crasheswhere they run off the road on a bend or straightand hit something like a tree or a parked car.Almost 30% of P driver crashes involve only onevehicle – the P driver’s own.

You can nearly always avoid these crashes if youcontrol your speed and give yourself enoughtime to scan ahead for hazards and enough time

and space to do something about them. Theadvice is simple:

• drive within the speed limits

• slow down before entering curves or bends –braking in a curve can be dangerous

• look for and take note of warning signsindicating curves or other hazards ahead andslow down before you get to the hazard

• slow to the speed recommended on thewarning signs

• if the weather is bad or the visibility is poorslow to a speed where you can pull upquickly if a hazard appears.

Warning signs like the ones shown in thefollowing picture are there to help you stay outof trouble when driving, by warning you abouthazards ahead. However, they will not help you ifyou are travelling too fast to detect them or toprepare for the hazards indicated.

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A final word on speed

Controlling your speed is largely in your ownhands. Sticking to the speed limits and adjustingyour speed to suit the conditions will help youavoid a crash, speeding fines or losing yourlicence through demerit points.

Key points summary: Keeping a safedistance from other vehicles

• Maintain a “space cushion” around your car.– front, sides and rear

• Control your speed – obey speed limits andadjust your speed to suit the conditions

Tips:1. When you are approaching a place

where hazards are likely and you mayneed to slow or stop quickly (egpedestrian crossings or shopping areas),take your foot off the accelerator and“cover” the brake. This means that yourfoot is over the brake pedal but not on it.This lets you brake very quickly if youneed to.

2. Research shows that speeding is morecommon at night, particularly byinexperienced drivers. This may be dueto having fewer indications of how fastyou are going when it is dark (eg it’sharder to see how quickly objects liketrees and poles flash by).

3. Travel time surveys by automobileorganisations such as NRMA and RACVshow that speeding makes very littledifference to your travel time in built-upareas. Apart from the increased risk of aspeeding fine and a crash, speeding alsocosts you more in fuel consumption.Think about this next time you aretempted to drive above the speed limit.

55�km/h�

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Practice exercises: Controlling your speed

Most experienced drivers have learned to judgehow fast they are driving and don’t need to lookat the speedometer all the time. You do need tocheck the speedometer regularly, but it is alsoimportant to develop a sense of what your carfeels like travelling at different speeds, and howthe road around you looks. This can help youavoid speeding and give you more time to spothazards.

For example, when you are driving in a particularspeed zone (eg 50km/hour, 60km/hour or80km/hour) observe how quickly you seem toapproach and pass stationary objects (eg powerpoles) at the side of the road. Also note how thecar feels and what feedback you get from theroad (eg road noise and vibration).

Without breaking the speed limit, see if you canjudge how fast you are going then compare thiswith the speedometer. Try this from thepassenger seat first with someone else driving.Tell the driver how fast you think the car istravelling, then ask them to tell you the actualspeed.

Practise in different speed zones, first as apassenger then as the driver. You should getmost practice in 50 km/hour, 60 km/hour and80km/hour zones because these are the mostcommon. Practise until you can usually estimatewithin about 5% of the actual travel speed.

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Keeping a safe followingdistance

The distance that it will take you to stop your cardepends on the speed at which you aretravelling. The faster you go, the longer thestopping distance. For example, you need twicethe distance to stop from 90km/hour comparedwith stopping from 60 km/hour, even in the bestpossible driving conditions – that is, on a sealed,dry road.

This means that you must increase the followingdistance between you and the vehicle ahead asyou increase speed. If you don’t do this you maycrash into the back of the vehicle ahead if it hasto stop quickly. This type of crash happens to alot of provisional drivers in NSW each year, butthere’s an easy way to avoid this. It’s called the“3-second rule”.

The “3 second rule”

This simple rule applies at any speed and is easyto use. Here’s how.

All you need to do when driving is watch thevehicle in front of you pass an object at the sideof the road such as a power pole, tree or sign. Asit passes the object, start counting “onethousand and one, one thousand and two, onethousand and three”.

If you pass the object you picked out before youfinish saying all the words, you are following tooclosely. Slow down, pick another roadside objectand repeat the words again to make sure thatyou have increased your following distanceenough.

What’s good about the “3 second rule” is that ithelps you keep a safe following distance at any

Stopping Distance

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speed. Using the “3 second rule” gives you abigger following distance the faster you drive.

Generally speaking, you should allow more thana 3 second following distance in rain, fog and onicy roads. You should also use a longer followingdistance at night because it’s harder to judgedistances and spot hazards when driving in thedark.

What a safe following distance lookslike

What do safe and unsafe following distanceslook like to a driver? Below is a “driver’s eyeview” of following another vehicle at 60 km/h.

• At a 1 second following distance (Too close – unsafe!)

• At a 3 second following distance (OK in good conditions only!)

• At a 4 second following distance (Better in wet and poor conditions)

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Key points summary: Keeping a safefollowing distance

• The faster you drive, the longer the distanceyou need to stop

• Use the “3 second rule” to keep a safedistance – need more when it is dark, wet,foggy or icy

Practice exercises: Using the 3 second rule

When you are driving, practise using the 3second rule when following behind othervehicles. You might be surprised how closebehind other cars you have been driving.

Practise in different speed zones until the 3second rule becomes easy to use.

Tip:You may find it is difficult to keep a 3second following distance in heavytraffic – other drivers may move intothe gap that you leave. This can beannoying, but try to maintain a 3second following distance anyway – oras big a gap as you can. This will helpyou stay out of trouble when hazardsarise.

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Keeping a safe distance to theside

Keeping a safe distance between you and otherroad users to your right and left is part ofmaintaining a “space cushion” around your car.

If you have to brake or swerve suddenly, thisspace to the side gives you some room to move.This may be enough to avoid a collision withother road users if a hazard arises.

Try to keep at least a metre between your vehicleand other moving or parked vehicles. This isimportant when driving beside parked carsbecause someone might open a car door in frontof you. It is also important when passing orovertaking other vehicles and when othervehicles travelling in the opposite direction passyou on narrow roads.

A space cushion to the left and right of your caralso allows other vulnerable road users such ascyclists some room to move. This reduces thechances of colliding with them.

Avoid travelling next to other vehicles

It is best not to travel next to other vehicles evenon a multi-laned road unless you have to. With avehicle to your left and right as shown in thepicture below, you have no room to swerve rightor left should a hazard arise in front of you. Sotry to keep some space in the lane beside you sothat you have a chance to steer around a hazardrather than be forced to brake hard.

The following picture also shows that havingvehicles to your right or left (or both) also blocksyour vision. This may prevent you from seeing ahazard to the left or right (eg a car entering froma side road).

1 metre

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It will be harder to avoid travelling next to othervehicles on multi-laned roads or freeways whenthe traffic is heavy. In these circumstances,however, the traffic is usually travelling moreslowly, so braking is often easier.

Key points summary: Keeping a safedistance to the side

• Keep at least a one metre “space cushion”between you and vehicles on your left orright

• Avoid travelling next to other vehicles,particularly trucks and buses

• Give cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestriansplenty of room

Tip:You might like to visit the HPT website(www.rta.nsw.gov.au/hpt.htm) to learnmore about “space cushions” in amore interactive environment.

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Keeping a safe distance to the rear

Maintaining a “safety cushion” behind you isdifficult as it is the other driver who has mostcontrol of this space. If, as in the picture below,the vehicle behind you is following too closely,slow down slightly to increase the space in frontof you. This means that if you spot a hazard infront of you, you can brake more graduallywhich will allow the vehicle behind more spaceto stop.

Key points summary: Keeping a safedistance to the rear

• It is difficult to maintain a “space cushion”behind you as the other driver controls thespace

• if the vehicle behind is travelling too closely ,slow down slightly to increase the “spacecushion” in front of you

NSW • 001premier state

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Selecting safe gaps

Importance of safe gap selection

Selecting safe gaps in traffic when turning,overtaking or changing lanes is a key hazardperception skill. Gap selection is also veryimportant at intersections. Up to one third ofNSW provisional driver crashes happen wherethe driver selects a gap that is too small andcollides with another vehicle.

What is a safe gap?

A safe gap is one that enables you to turn,overtake, change lanes or cross an intersectionwithout being involved in a crash or endangeringother road users. This means that no other roadusers should need to take action to avoid yourvehicle. For example, if you make a left turn froma side street onto a main road and the traffic on

the main road has to brake heavily or changelanes to avoid colliding with you, the gap wasnot safe.

If a gap is not large enough it is unsafe and youshould not go. Remember, good hazardperception is as much about recognising whento stay as when to go. As noted in the sectiontitled How the Hazard Perception Test works (seep 12), The HPT may present you with somesituations where it is not safe to turn, overtake orcross an intersection. It is therefore important torecognise safe and unsafe gaps in traffic. Forexample, in the picture below, the gap is toosmall for the driver to safely complete a rightturn. Would you agree?

Selecting safe gaps is a key part of developinghazard perception skills.

Safe to turn?Stay or go?

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Key points summary: Selecting safegaps

• A gap is safe where you can turn, overtake,change lanes or cross an intersection • without being involved in a crash • without endangering yourself or other

road users• without other road users having to take

action to avoid your vehicle

• if a gap is not large enough, don’t go – waittill it is safe

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Guidelines for safe gap selection

Safe gaps vary with the road conditions, thespeed of the traffic and the weather conditions. Itis difficult to provide hard and fast rules, but thissection will give you some guidelines to helpyou select safe gaps in traffic.

These guidelines will cover :

• safe gaps when turning:· left· right

• U turning

• safe gaps when crossing intersections

• safe gaps when overtaking.

Any guidelines in this section will need to bepractised by you in real traffic. They will be oflittle assistance to you without practice. You willneed to adapt the guidelines to your own drivingcircumstances.

You need to try the practice exercises that appearat the end of each section. Visiting the HPTwebsite (www.rta.nsw.gov.au/hpt.htm) may alsohelp you learn or improve your gap selectionskills.

Selecting safe gaps when turning

Making turns is often difficult, particularly whenthe traffic is heavy. You need to watch for traffic,and other road users such as pedestrians, to thefront, left and right. The key hazard perceptionskill, however, is selecting a gap that is bigenough for you to safely complete the turn. Thisis a skill that comes with practice.

Safe gaps – turning left

Left turns seem less complicated than right turnsas you do not need to look for trafficapproaching from the left. However, left turns aregenerally sharper than right turns and may takelonger to complete. You also need time toaccelerate to match the speed of the traffic onthe road that you are entering. The faster thetraffic, the more time you will need to accelerateto match the traffic speed.

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Gap selection for left hand turns is a skill thattakes time and practice to develop. But here aresome guidelines that may help. If you are turningleft in a 60km/hour zone you will need a gap ofabout 6 seconds between your car and vehiclesapproaching from the right. This assumes thatthe traffic is travelling at 60km/hour – it mayactually be faster.

A 6 second gap means that you could countfrom “one thousand and one” through to “onethousand and six” before a vehicle from the rightwould be level with your car. Of course, youneed to be able to judge what this distance lookslike as you can’t use this counting tool whentrying to make a left hand turn.

Most experienced drivers will not go unless thegap is this size or bigger. Some drivers will gowhen the gap is only 4 seconds, but this maycause other vehicles to have to brake to avoidcrashing into them.

As a relatively new driver you should be lookingfor gaps that are at least 6 seconds. This isshown in the following picture. A 6 second gapat 60km/hour is the same as a distance of about100 metres.

If you don’t have a gap of at least this size in a60km/hour zone, it would not be safe to go. Inhigher speed zones the gap that you will needwill be the same in time, but longer in distance.For example, in an 80km/hour zone where thetraffic is travelling at 80km/hour a 6 second gapequals about 135 metres.

A word of caution. These are guidelines only, nothard and fast rules. You will need to build yourgap selection skills to establish what a safe gaplooks like to you when you are driving.

6 seconds - 100 metres

not shown to scale

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Key points summary: Safe gaps –turning left

• when turning left in a 60km/hour zone youneed at least a gap of 6 seconds (about 100metres) between your car and vehiclesapproaching from the right

• if a gap is not large enough, don’t go – wait tillit is safe

Safe gaps – Turning right

Right turns are more complicated than left turnsbecause you need to look for traffic approachingfrom the left and right. You may also need togive way to pedestrians. At an uncontrolledintersection (4-way intersection with no Stop orGive Way signs) you may also have to watch forapproaching traffic. Fortunately, there are fewuncontrolled intersections like this in NSW.

Features of right turns

Right turns are generally less sharp than leftturns. The next picture shows the path taken bya left and right turning vehicle. While you haveto cover more road to complete a right turn,because it is shallower you can generallyaccelerate quite quickly. This is necessarybecause you need to quickly match the speed ofthe traffic on the road that you are entering. Aswith left turns, the faster the traffic, the moretime and space you need to complete a rightturn.

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Guidelines for right turns

Gap selection for right turns is a skill that willtake time and practice to develop. Here are someguidelines to help.

If you are turning right in a 60km/hour zone youwill need a gap of at least 4 seconds betweenyour car and vehicles approaching from theright, but a gap of at least 6 seconds from theleft. The following picture illustrates this. Thisassumes that the traffic is travelling at60km/hour – it may actually be faster – and thatthere is no on-coming traffic.

You need a smaller gap on the right because youwill more quickly “clear” the traffic approachingfrom the right. But you need a bigger gap on theleft because you need time to complete the turnon the far side of the road and accelerate to thespeed of the traffic. Because it will take youabout 3 seconds to get to the other side of theroad, a 6 second gap to the left allows you 3seconds for accelerating to the speed of thestream speed of traffic you are entering.

Turning right at a cross intersection

Turning right at a cross intersection (ie one with4 directions) with oncoming traffic and trafficfrom the right and left, is harder. You will need tolook 3 ways to judge a safe gap – to the frontand the left and right. As shown in the followingpicture, you are also likely to be facing a Stop orGive Way sign.

4 seconds - 70

6 seconds - 100 metres

not shown to scale

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In this situation you need at least a 4 second gapto the right, at least a 6 second gap to the leftand at least a 4 second gap to the front.

Gap selection skills take time and practice todevelop. Start with simpler gap selections andwork up to the more complex ones when youfeel confident.

Turning right at traffic lights

Making a right turn at traffic lights is simplerthan at an uncontrolled intersection (ie onewithout traffic lights, Stop signs or Give Waysigns). You only have to look for a safe gap inthe traffic that is approaching you. However,many provisional drivers have crashes whenturning right at traffic lights. This is because theypick gaps that are too small or misjudge thespeed of the approaching traffic.

If you are turning right at traffic lights in a60km/hour zone you will need a gap of at least 4seconds (about 70 metres) between your car andapproaching vehicles. Again, this assumes thatthe approaching traffic is travelling at 60km/hour– it may actually be faster.

The picture below shows what a 4 second gap(about 70 metres in a 60km/hour zone) wouldlook like from a driver’s eye view. Moreexperienced drivers may accept gaps of only 3seconds, but as a new driver, you should giveyourself a bit more time to complete the turn.

Guidelines, not rules

As with other turns, these are guidelines only,not hard and fast rules. You will need to buildyour gap selection skills so you know what asafe gap looks like to you when you are turningright.

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Key points summary: Safe gaps –turning right

• when turning right in a 60km/hour zone youneed gaps of at least the following:• 4 seconds to the right (about 70 metres)• 6 seconds to the left (about 100metres)• 4 seconds to the front (about 70 metres) –

where there is oncoming traffic

• if a gap is not large enough, don’t go –wait till it is safe

Practice exercises: Safe gaps whenturning right

Selecting safe gaps when turning right is harderthan turning left or crossing an intersection. Thefollowing practice exercises will help you withthis. They will also help you develop hazardperception skills to apply to other gap selectiontasks.

Learning how to judge what a safe gap looks likein traffic needs practice. It can also bedangerous, so take care.

Step 1Find a T-intersection on a busy arterial (main)road in a 60-km/hour zone where many cars turnright onto the busy road. Park your carsomewhere safe and walk to the intersection.Stand on the footpath where you can see theright turning vehicles and the approaching trafficon the busy road.

Watch the traffic on the busy road approachingfrom the right and left. By counting “onethousand and one, one thousand and two” andso on, work out where a 6 second gap wouldstart to the left. Select an object (eg a powerpole, bus stop or tree) to mark this spot.

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Do the same for traffic approaching from theright, but count to 4 seconds, not 6.

Now watch the drivers turning right from theside street onto the busy road – watch at least 10to get a good feel for it. When do they go? Domany go inside the safe gap guidelines? Watchfor other P drivers, when do they go? Were thereany pedestrians?

Think about when you would go if you were inyour car waiting to turn right at that intersection.Would you have accepted or rejected the gapstaken by other drivers?

Step 2Using the same intersection, ask an experienceddriver who you trust to make about 6 right handturns with you in the passenger seat. The otherdriver should have a full licence and, if possible,at least 5 years’ licensed driving experience.

Without interrupting or distracting the driver,note when you would have gone and discussthis with the driver later when you have stoppedsomewhere safe. How much did the two of youagree? Who accepted the smaller gaps, you orthe more experienced driver? Were there anypedestrians?

Discuss with the more experienced driver whythey went when they did and how they judgedthe gap was safe.

Step 3Using the same intersection, ask an experienceddriver who you trust to sit in the passenger seatwhile you make about 6 right hand turns.

The person in the passenger seat should notewhen they would have gone and discuss thiswith you later, when you have stoppedsomewhere safe. They should not interrupt ordistract you when you are driving. How muchagreement was there? Who accepted the smallergaps, you or the more experienced driver? Werethere any pedestrians?

Discuss with the more experienced driver whyyou went when you did and how you judged thegap was safe.

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Step 4Follow Steps 1-3 for gap selections in otherspeed zones. You should practise gap selectionand compare notes with several moreexperienced drivers who you trust. Do this untilyou are confident that you can make consistentlysafe gap selections when turning right at Tintersections when facing a Stop or Give Waysign.

Step 5When you feel confident, repeat Steps 1-4 forturns at 4-way intersections where you need tojudge safe gaps to the front, left and right andare facing a Stop or Give Way sign.

Safe gaps – Making U turns

U turns are more complicated than right turns asyou need to look for traffic approaching frombehind you and traffic coming towards you. Uturns fall just outside the 5 most common crashtypes for NSW provisional drivers. However,some advice on coping with them is included asthey are obviously hazardous for new drivers.

Features of U turns

U turns are sharper than right turns. You have tocover more road to complete the U turn. Becauseit is a very tight turn, usually from a stationary(stand still) position, you usually can’t acceleratequickly until you have completed the turn, soyou need to be sure the gap is long enough tolet you get up to the speed of the stream oftraffic you are entering. As with other turns, the

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faster the traffic, the more time and space youwill need to complete a U turn.

A word of caution

U turns are difficult and potentially dangerous,particularly on busy, high speed roads There areno gold medals for doing them. Unless youreally have to make a U turn, don’t. Analternative is to do a right turn into a side street,make a three-point turn where it is quieter andsafer in the side street, then turn left back ontothe road you left. There is no shame in doingthis. Experienced drivers do it all the time.

Key points summary: Safe gaps – U turns

• U turns can be difficult and dangerous

• if it is dangerous to do a U-turn, don’t – do athree-point turn in a side street instead

Safe gaps when crossing intersections

More than 20% of provisional driver crasheshappen at intersections. Selecting safe gapswhen crossing intersections is an importanthazard perception skill.

Features of crossing intersections

Crossing intersections can be almost ascomplicated as making a right turn. You need tolook for traffic approaching from the left andright and look out for oncoming traffic that maybe turning right. Most of the time you will befacing a Give Way or Stop sign as shown in thenext picture. This means that the task can bevery demanding, particularly when the road thatyou are crossing is busy and the traffic istravelling quickly.

3 seconds - 50 metres

4 seconds - 70 metres

not shownto scale

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From a stationary (stand still) position it takes atleast 3 seconds to cross a typical intersection ona 2-way road. This means that you need at leasta 3 second gap (about 50 metres in a 60km/hourzone) between your car and vehiclesapproaching from the right. You will also need abigger gap, at least 4 seconds (about 70 metresin a 60km/hour zone), for traffic on your left toallow you to cross the intersection in safety andnot cause the cross traffic to brake or swerve toavoid your car. These gaps are illustrated in theprevious picture. More experienced drivers mayaccept smaller gaps, but as a new driver, youshould give yourself a bit more time to getacross.

You may need less time to cross the intersectionif your car is already moving. This may be thecase when you are approaching a Give Way signat an intersection and can proceed acrosswithout stopping. However, take care. It isdifficult to judge your speed and that of othertraffic from the left and right. If in doubt, stopand only cross the intersection when you aresure the gap is big enough.

Guidelines, not rules

These are guidelines only, not hard and fastrules. You will need to build your gap selectionskills so you know what a safe gap looks like toyou when you are crossing an intersection.

Key points summary: Safe gaps whencrossing intersections

• when crossing a typical intersection in a60km/hour zone, you need gaps of at least thefollowing:• 3 seconds to the right (about 50 metres)• 4 seconds to the left (about 70 metres)

• if a gap is not big enough, don’t go – wait till itis safe

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Safe gaps when overtaking

Overtaking other vehicles can be hazardous,particularly on high-speed, 2-way roads. If youmisjudge the gap needed to overtake safely youcould collide head-on with an oncoming vehicle.Head-on crashes are usually very severe becausethe speed of your car combines with that of theother. For example, a head-on crash where bothcars are travelling at only 60km/hour gives acollision speed of 120km/hour. This is theequivalent of driving into a stationary object at120km/hour!

You also need enough space to avoid collidingwith the vehicle that you are overtaking.Selecting safe gaps for overtaking is a key hazardperception skill that takes time and practice todevelop.

Go or stay?

TipWhere there is a median strip, cross theintersection in two stages if the traffic isheavy. Select a safe gap to the right andmove to the middle of the road protectedby the median. When there is a safe gapfrom the left, complete the crossing.

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Overtaking is similar to, but not the same aspassing other vehicles on multi-laned highways,freeways or arterial roads. It is much harder andfar more dangerous. When overtaking on a 2-way road you need to cross the centreline andtravel on the wrong side of the road.

A word of caution

The decision to overtake or not overtake anothervehicle is mainly your own. Most of the time youovertake to maintain the speed at which youwant to travel. However, sometimes you willneed to overtake or pass stationary or brokendown vehicles.

The best thing to remember about overtaking isnot to do it unless you really have to.

Features of overtaking

The difficulty with overtaking is judging whetherthe gap between your car and an oncomingvehicle is large enough for you to safely pull out,pass the vehicle and pull in again. Your view ofoncoming traffic may be blocked if the vehicle tobe overtaken is large (such as a truck or bus).This makes overtaking even more hazardous.You also need to accelerate to pass the vehiclebeing overtaken. Putting all of this together canbe difficult. Many provisional drivers have little

experience in overtaking other vehicles,particularly on 2-way roads in 100km/hour speedzones.

Other things that affect overtaking are the size ofthe vehicle you want to pass, and how well yourown vehicle can accelerate. For example,overtaking a car takes less time than overtaking atruck, particularly a semi-trailer or road train.

As the following picture shows, a truck or buscan be up to 3 times longer than your car. Semi-trailers can be up to 5 times longer androad trains up to 9 times longer!

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apsA car that cannot accelerate quickly will also take

longer to overtake another vehicle. Rememberthat your car’s ability to accelerate is generallyreduced at higher speeds.

Guidelines for selecting safe gaps forovertaking

It is not possible to provide firm guidelines forovertaking. This is because overtaking is such acomplex task. When you are overtaking you haveto be able to take into account:• the traffic conditions• the size of the vehicle you want to overtake• the power/acceleration capacity of the car you

are driving.

The best approach is for you to learn what a safeovertaking gap looks like for you and your car. Toachieve this you will need to work your waythrough the following practice exercises.

You will notice that the practice exercises startwith passing other vehicles on multi-laned roadssuch as freeways or divided roads. This is toease you into the gap selection skills required forovertaking and minimise the risk to you andother road users.

Remember, if you don’t feel confident aboutovertaking or feel that it would be unsafe, don’tdo it.

Step 1 Passing other vehicles on multi-laned roads

Find a road in a 60, 70 or 80km/hour speed zonewith 2 lanes in each direction, but no medianstrip. Try to find one that has several kilometresof fairly straight road where you can easily seeapproaching traffic. A street directory may beuseful in finding a section of road like this.

In fine weather and in daylight, go to this sectionof road. Try to avoid peak times as the traffic islikely to be moving slowly.

4.5m 12.5m 19m

Relative sizes

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Drive in the left lane and start to come up behinda vehicle that is travelling below the speed limit.Move up to a 3 second following distance behindthe slower vehicle. When it is safe, indicate andmove to the right hand lane, pass the slowervehicle then indicate and return to the left lane infront of the vehicle. Leave a safe gap betweenyour car and the vehicle you have passed.

Practise timing how long it takes to perform thispassing task on the multi-laned road until youcan consistently estimate your passing time.Practise passing vehicles of different sizes,particularly trucks – time this in the same way asyou did for passing cars. You will find that ittakes you much longer to pass.

Step 2 Estimating safe gaps tooncoming vehicles on a multi-laned road

When it is safe, travel at the speed limit on thesame multi-laned road, (in daylight and goodweather) and select an oncoming vehicle . Bycounting, “one thousand and one” and so on,work out how long it takes for that vehicle todraw level with and pass your car. The task isshown in the picture below.

Once you have tried this several times, selectseveral more oncoming vehicles and estimatehow long it will take for them to reach your car.Then count “one thousand and one, onethousand and two” and so on, and compare yourestimate with the actual number of secondscounted. Practise this until you can consistentlyestimate how long it will take an oncoming

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vehicle to reach you, within one secondaccuracy.

Step 3 Simulating the overtaking task

You have now practised separately the two mainparts of overtaking. It is now time to combinethem to simulate what it would be like toovertake a vehicle on a 2-way road withoncoming traffic.

From Step 1 you know how long it takes for youto pass a slower vehicle in a particular speedzone. For example, if it took 12 seconds fromwhen you first indicated until you moved back tothe left lane, then 12 seconds is the minimumtime that you need to overtake a vehicletravelling at that speed in that speed zone. Usingthis example, you need to add a safety margin ofat least 3 seconds to give you the minimum timegap you need between your car and anoncoming vehicle if you want to overtake aslower vehicle in this speed zone on a 2-way,undivided road. The two components of a safeovertaking gap are shown in the picture.

Now work out what your estimate of theminimum safe time gap would be for you toovertake safely by taking the passing time youhave already worked out in Step 1 and adding amargin of 3 seconds.

Use the same road that you have practised Steps1 and 2 on. Drive in the left lane and startcoming up behind a vehicle that is travelling atjust below the speed limit. Move up to a 3second following distance behind the slowervehicle.

3 secondsafety margin

passing time

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Watch the approaching traffic and look for a timegap that you think would be large enough foryou to safely pass the slower vehicle before theapproaching vehicle draws level with your car.Pull out, pass the vehicle and return to the leftlane. Check your estimate against your actualperformance. Did you manage to complete thepassing task before the approaching vehicle waswithin 3 seconds of your car?

Practise this task until you can consistentlyidentify a safe time gap between your car and anapproaching vehicle and complete the simulatedovertaking task with at least 3 seconds to spare.

Step 4: Extending the lessons of steps 1-3

The skills that you have learned and applied inSteps 1-3 can be applied to other speed zones.You may wish to practice Steps 1-3 on a divided

100km/hour road to ensure that you have got agood grasp of gap selection for safe overtaking.

What you have learned from Steps 1-3 can alsobe applied to overtaking on narrower 2-way,undivided roads in built-up and rural areas.However, there is less margin for error on theseroads. That is, you are in more danger if youmake a mistake.

If you have not overtaken on a two-wayundivided road before, you may want to observea more experienced driver that you trust do thisfirst.

The best 2-way, undivided roads to practiseovertaking on are quieter roads in 60km zones. Itis also best to use roads that are broader thanlocal, suburban streets and have few cars parkedalong them.

Remember, if you don’t feel confident aboutovertaking or feel that it would be unsafe, don’tdo it.

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Key points summary: Safe gaps whenovertaking

• a safe overtaking gap is your overtaking timeplus a “safety margin” of at least threeseconds

• if it doesn’t look or feel safe to overtake, thendon’t do it – wait till it is safe

Tip:On country roads and highways there areoften overtaking lanes at regular intervalsto allow you to safely overtake. These aresignposted well in advance with signs thatlook like this:

Use these overtaking lanes to pass slowertraffic. It’s safer and avoids the risk of ahead-on crash.

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Scanning for hazards

What is scanning?

Scanning means taking in the whole scene 360degrees around your car. This is a key hazardperception skill that drivers need to use to avoidcrashes. You need to scan constantly for hazardswhen you drive.

Effective scanning means constantly movingyour eyes and/or your head when driving so thatyou can detect hazards that may arise ahead, tothe sides and behind your vehicle. Researchshows that new drivers are not good atscanning. They tend to focus on the road justahead of their car. The good news is that newdrivers get better at scanning with practice.

This section aims to help you become better atscanning so that you can detect hazards beforethey become a problem for you and other roadusers. You can also visit the HPT website atwww.rta.nsw.gov.au/hpt.htm for more interactiveinformation on scanning.

How to scan for hazards when driving

To scan effectively you need to move your eyes,your head and perhaps your upper body to get agood view of what is going on right round your

car. The picture below shows that you need a360 degrees view (a full circle).

This means that you need to look out of thewindscreen and the side windows to see what isshaping up ahead and to the sides. You alsoneed to use your mirrors to see what is behindyou. But your mirrors can’t cover all of the viewbehind. You always have “blind spots” – areasnot covered by your mirrors. To check your blindspots you need to turn your head and look outthe side windows.

Blind spots will be different on each vehicle thatyou drive. Vehicle such as vans or trucks oftenhave more blind spots than passenger cars.

Checking the blind spots with a head check isvital when you want to change lanes or whenreversing. A head check where you look round

blind spotblind spot

mirrors view

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over your shoulder is shown in the picturebelow.

A scanning routine

Experienced drivers constantly scan for hazardswhen driving. They do it automatically. To helpyou become better at scanning for hazards, hereis a good routine to develop.

Look up to 12 seconds ahead. In a 60km/hourzone this means looking up to 200 metres ahead;on a freeway at 90km/hour it is up to 300 metres.The next picture shows what this looks like at50km/hour. Scanning this far ahead gives you achance to spot hazards that are shaping up wellin advance (eg a broken down truck, an accident,the road narrowing to one lane). You will alsohave time to avoid them.

In heavy traffic, you may not be able to look 12seconds ahead. But you are likely to be travellingmore slowly which helps make up for this.

Scanning far enough ahead may mean lookingthrough the windows of vehicles ahead of you tosee what is happening. For example, by doingthis you will know in advance if a car ahead isbraking as you will see the brake lights come onseveral cars ahead. This gives you more time tobrake if you have to. Scanning means that youare not just looking at the vehicle immediately infront of you.

Looking ahead also means scanning from side toside for hazards on the roadside or atintersections. Hazards may be parked cars,cyclists or pedestrians. Effective scanning meanskeeping your eyes and/or your head moving andnot concentrating on just one spot.

12 secondsahead

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Check your mirrors every 8-10 seconds. Thingschange behind and beside you when you drive.Unless you check your mirrors you won’t know ifsomeone is doing something such as trying toovertake or if there is a police car or ambulancecoming up quickly.

Check your blind spots. Scanning ahead andchecking your mirrors is usually enough whenyou are driving along in the same lane withoutturning or changing lanes. However, if you needto turn or diverge right or left, you need to knowwhat is in the blind spots. Head checks enableyou to check your blind spots.

Summary of scanning routine

Here is a dot-point summary of a good scanningroutine:

• scan up to 12 seconds ahead

• check your mirrors every 8 – 10 seconds

• check your blind spots with a head checkbefore you turn or diverge

This scanning routine is shown in the nextpicture.

Your scanning routine needs to be constantlyrepeated as you drive. Of course if you detect ahazard and need to deal with it, this will be yourfirst priority. But once this has passed, you needto return to your scanning routine.

Smart scanning

When you are scanning, there is a lot to look at,a lot to take in. It would be impossible to look ateverything that you see in detail. You need to besmart about the way you scan for hazards. Thismeans sorting or filtering what is important fromeverything that is happening. Here are someways to make your scanning smarter.

Look for change

Your vision is designed to pick up movement andchange, not what stays the same. This meansthat moving hazards may be easier to spot than

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stationary ones like road works or parkedvehicles. This can be a problem because you canget distracted by a fast moving hazard (eg apolice car coming towards you) and miss astationary one that may be of more immediateconcern (eg a parked truck blocking your lane).You need to look for both moving and stationaryhazards.

A hazard perception action plan

Through scanning and hazard perception you aretrying to:

See road hazards (eg pedestrian waiting to crossthe road ahead)

Think about what might happen (eg pedestrianmight walk in front of your car)

Think about possible solutions ( eg slow down,change lanes or increase space between your carand pedestrian, sound horn)

Do something to remain safe (eg slow down andgive the pedestrian more space)

This hazard perception process can besummarised as:• See• Think• DoScanning is the “see” part of the process.Understanding that these 3 steps are the basis ofgood hazard perception can be helpful.

Of course, all of this takes place very quickly,sometimes in only a few seconds. This is whyyou need to practise in real traffic so that hazardperception skills like scanning becomeautomatic.

Listening for hazards

While driving is mainly a visual task, listeningcan also help detect hazards. For example, youcan often hear its siren before you actually seean emergency vehicle like an ambulance.Another example is motor cycles – they can behard to see, but the sound of an engine can letyou know there is one nearby.

POLICE

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To help you listen for hazards, it is good not tohave the radio or stereo too loud when you aredriving.

Avoiding fatigue

Fatigue (being tired and losing concentration)reduces your ability to detect and respond tohazards. Research shows that the more fatigueddrivers are the more hazards they miss and themore likely they are to crash.

You don’t have to drive long distances to getfatigued. Working long hours, partying hard andnot getting enough sleep can make you fatigued.The only effective way to avoid fatigue is to getplenty of sleep. Fresh air, coffee and loud musicwon’t work.

Do not drive at times when you would normallybe asleep. Commencing a trip late at night orearly in the morning, or driving through thesehours, can be very dangerous. If you do drivelong distances, take regular rest breaks at leastevery two hours.

For information on managing fatigue see theRTA website at www.rta.nsw.gov.au or The RTARoad Users Handbook.

Key points summary: scanning forhazards

• scanning means taking in the whole scene 360degrees around your car – including any blindspots

• you need to scan constantly for hazards whenyou drive – look and listen for hazards

• use a scanning routine:• look up to 12 seconds ahead – at 60km/hour

this is about 200 metres, at 90km/hour about 300 metres

• look for change and movement in the traffic scene

• check your mirrors every 8-10 seconds – outside and inside mirrors

• check your blind spots with a head check before turning or diverging right or left

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• Remember the hazard perception action plan:• See (hazards)• Think (about what might happen and

what to do)• Do (something to stay safe)

• avoid fatigue – fatigue and tiredness reduceyour hazard perception skills

Practice exercises – Scanning forhazards

1. Blind spots on your car

Ask someone to help you check where the blindspots are on your car. With the car parked safelyat the roadside or in a driveway, check that yourmirrors are adjusted properly. Roll down thewindows. Ask your assistant to walk very slowlyaround the car. Watch carefully in the mirrors,but don’t turn your head. Call “Stop” when yourassistant disappears from view. Adjust yourmirrors again and see if you can reduce the blindspot area and still get a good view of the roadbehind. Repeat the process with your assistantagain. Did you manage to reduce the blindspots?

Repeat the process again. When your assistant isin a blind spot, try turning your head to do ahead check. Can you see them or does part ofthe car still block them?

Once you have completed this process, you willknow where the blind spots are on your car andhow large they are. You will also know to whatextent head checks compensate for them.

TipReduce distractions (eg radio, otherpassengers talking, things dangling fromthe inside mirror) when you are driving inhazardous situations (eg busy traffic, atnight in the rain). This will make it easier todetect hazards. Don’t make driving andlooking for hazards any harder than itneeds to be.

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2. Scanning routine

Practise the scanning routine summarised in thissection. Start with:

• scan up to 12 seconds ahead

• check your mirrors every 8 – 10 seconds

• check your blind spots with a head checkbefore you turn or diverge

Try it with the vehicle stationary at the side ofthe road. When you are confident that you havethe routine worked out, try it in various speedzones. Start with 50km/hour, then progress tofaster speed zones. Start on quieter roads thenprogress to busier ones.

Using the “one-thousand and one, one thousandand two” counting technique, practise estimatingwhat scanning 12 seconds ahead looks like atvarious speeds. You may be surprised at how farahead you need to look.

3. Comparing notes on scanning

Ask an experienced driver who you know andtrust to help you with this practice exercise. Thisperson should have a full licence and have beendriving for at least 10 years.

Map out a circular route through a nearby built-up area that will take you about 5-10 minutes tocomplete. Include traffic lights, Stop signs andareas where you are likely to come across otherroad users such as pedestrians.

Ask your experienced assistant to drive thecircular route, with you travelling in thepassenger seat. Scan the road as though you aredriving. As your assistant drives the circularroute, ask them to tell you where they arelooking, what they are looking at and what theyconsider to be hazards. Questions like “What areyou seeing?” and “What are you going to donow?” might be appropriate.

This technique is called “commentary driving”and is used by driver trainers and some licenceexaminers to find out where a driver is looking,what hazards they are seeing and what they planto do about them. It might be a bit difficult foryou and your assistant to do at first, but it getseasier with practice.

Are they looking at the same things as you? Dothey spot hazards that you don’t? Do you agreeon what may be hazards? Did they respond tohazards in the way that you would have?

When your assistant has finished driving theroute, stop somewhere safe and talk about it.

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Once you have talked about how you and theother driver scanned for hazards, swap positionsso that you are driving. This time drive the routein the opposite direction. Ask your assistant toscan the road as though they are driving. As youdrive along the route tell them where you arelooking, what you are looking at and what youconsider to be hazards.

Stop somewhere safe and compare notes. Areyou looking at the same things as your assistant?Do you spot hazards that your assistant doesn’t?Do you agree on what may be hazards? Did yourespond to hazards in the way your assistantwould have?

This technique of practice through comparingyour scanning with a more experienced driver isa very useful learning tool. Try it with a range ofother drivers who vary in age and drivingexperience. Use it often to build and refine yourscanning skills. You can never get enoughscanning practice.

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perception is particularlyimportant

Hazard perception skills are important no matterwhere and when you drive. The need for themnever goes away. However, there are somesituations where hazard perception skills areparticularly vital for your safety and that of otherroad users. They may not specifically figure inthe 5 most common crash types for provisionaldrivers (see 5 most common crash types forprovisional drivers, p 9,10), but they are stillimportant. This section summarises these.

Important hazard perception situations

As a relatively new driver it is important that youlearn to handle the following situations whendriving:

• pedestrians on or near the road

• cyclists

• motorcyclists

• dealing with trucks and buses

• negotiating roadworks

• crashes and breakdowns involving othervehicles or road users

• emergency vehicles

• animals on or near the road.

Coping with these situations

Coping with these situations does not requireany new set of hazard perception skills. Thesame basic skills still apply, ie:

• scanning for hazards

• keeping a safe distance from other road users

• selecting safe gaps.

As a driver you still only have the options ofslowing down, stopping or changing direction tocope with hazards that you might encounter.

The aim of this section is to help you apply thesehazard perception skills to some of the specificdriving situations that you are likely to comeacross. You can also visit the HPT website atwww.rta.nsw.gov.au/hpt.htm for more interactiveinformation on these issues.

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Pedestrians, cyclists & motorcyclists

Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists arevulnerable road users. They have no protectionin the event of a collision with a vehicle. A crashthat leaves only a small dent in your car couldkill or injure an unprotected road user. More than6000 cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists arekilled or injured in NSW each year.

Unprotected road users are harder to see thancars or trucks. So scan carefully for them. Afterall, you’d want drivers to look out for you whenyou are walking, cycling or motorcycling.

Pedestrians

While pedestrians can be found in many places,scan for them particularly around shoppingcentres, schools, bus stops and intersections.You need to scan the road and the footpath. Look

between parked cars where your view ofpedestrians, particularly children, can be partiallyblocked.

Pedestrians can be unpredictable and may notcross where it is safe or legal. They are alsoharder to see than vehicles. You may expect tosee pedestrians at crossings and intersections,but may not expect them to emerge from behindparked cars mid-block.

To give yourself time and space to detect anddeal with pedestrian hazards, slow down on theapproach to areas where you are likely toencounter pedestrians (eg schools, shoppingcentres). You need to be particularly careful ofchildren and older people. Children can dart outon to the road very quickly and do not have theroad sense of adults. Older people areexperienced road users, but they may not be as

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ns agile or alert as younger people. This means that

they may not look for traffic as carefully and maytake longer than expected to cross a road.

Give all pedestrians plenty of room whenapproaching or passing them (eg when making aleft or right turn). Try to make eye contact withthem to ensure that they have seen you. Soundyour car horn if you think that they haven’tnoticed you. Stop if you need to.

Remember that pedestrians will be harder to seeat night or when it is dull, overcast or raining.

Cyclists

Cyclists use the roads, footpaths and bike pathsthat may cross roads or run beside roads. Manycyclists, including adults, will move readily fromthe road to the footpath and back again and maycross roads from footpath to footpath. This can

make them harder to see at times. Rememberthat children aged 12 years and under can legallyride on the footpath. But don’t assume that theywill always ride there and that adults will alwaysride on the road. You need to scan the road andthe footpath for cyclists.

Give all cyclists plenty of room whenapproaching or passing them (eg when making aleft or right turn). Try to make eye contact withcyclists to ensure that they have seen you.Sound your car horn if you think that theyhaven’t noticed you. Stop if you need to.

Cyclists can generally move faster thanpedestrians, but will be a lot slower atnegotiating intersections and making turns thanmotor vehicles.

Unfortunately, not all cyclists know or obey theroad rules. You may even find cyclists riding

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against the traffic, riding through red trafficlights and riding without lights at night. Thismeans that your scanning needs to be constantand careful when driving in daylight or darkness.

Motorcyclists

Like other unprotected road users, motorcyclistscan be hard to see in traffic because they aremuch smaller than cars. They also make up onlyabout 3% of all vehicles on NSW roads so canget “swallowed up” by the mass of other traffic.

Motorcycles are usually more agile than othervehicles. Most can accelerate faster than mostcars and fit through small gaps in traffic. Somemotorcyclists take advantage of thesecharacteristics and will “share” lanes with othervehicles and weave from lane to lane even inheavy traffic. This can make them unpredictable.

Motorcycles can also be “masked” by other,larger vehicles. For example, you may not knowthat a motorcyclist is riding behind or beside atruck as the other vehicle completely hides them.This can make them hard to spot in traffic. Forexample , the motorcyclist in the picture washidden by the truck only a second before thisphotograph was taken.

A motorcycle can also fit into the blind spots tothe left and right of your car. You may not beable to see them at all without doing a headcheck. So check your mirrors and blind spotscarefully before changing lanes or diverging.

In too many crashes involving motorcycles, theother driver claims not to have seen themotorcyclist. This may be true, but is of nocomfort to the motorcycle rider.

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• where another vehicle turns across the pathof an oncoming motorcycle, and

• where a turning motorcycle is struck by avehicle going straight through.

This means that you need to scan carefully formotorcycles when you are selecting a safe gapto turn, cross an intersection, pass or overtake.

Trucks and buses

Heavy vehicles such as trucks and buses areusually easier to see than other vehicles due totheir size. While this will help you see them, italso means that they can hide other vehicles orpedestrians behind them or beside them. Thismeans it is very important to scan around thesevehicles.

When following a bus or truck you may need togive yourself more following distance so thatyou can see around it. The following picturesshow how much more you can see at a 5 secondfollowing distance than at a 3 second followingdistance at 60km/hour.

You have probably noticed that trucks and busestake up more road space and need more room tomake turns. Don’t try to compete with them for

the same piece of road. Give them plenty ofroom, particularly when they are making a turnor braking.

Truck and bus drivers rely on their outsidemirrors to see vehicles behind and beside them.If you can’t see the mirrors of a truck or busahead of you, then the driver can’t see you andmay not know that you are there. So don’t drivein their blind spots. Some trucks have signs on

3 second gap

5 second gap

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the back warning you not to do this.

If you are passing or overtaking a truck or bus(particularly a semi-trailer, B-double or road-train) remember that it may be many timeslonger than a car and will therefore take longerto overtake or pass.

As trucks and buses need more time to slowdown than cars, keep a bigger gap between yourcar and a following truck or bus. This will givethe truck or bus driver more time and space topull up and avoid running into the back of yourcar. Remember, you are likely to come off secondbest if there is a collision because the truck orbus may be up to 40 times heavier than your car.

Roadworks

Roadworks are often annoying because theyslow your journey from A to B. They can also bedangerous places, both for you and the roadworkers. There is often slow moving heavymachinery, trucks, rough surfaces, no lanemarkings and workers on or near the road.

Unfortunately, many drivers ignore thetemporary warning signs for roadworks,including the roadwork speed limit sign shownin the following picture. This gives them littletime or space to detect and react to hazards. Thisleads to the death and injury of vehicleoccupants and road workers each year in NSW.

Scan ahead for roadwork signs. They are usuallyplaced well in advance of the work site to givedrivers a chance to slow down and get into thecorrect lane. Obey the roadworks signs andspeed limits, even if other drivers seem to beignoring them. Scan for hazards on the waythrough the work site and give workers andmachinery a wide berth.

Crashes and breakdowns

Traffic slows or stops around places wherevehicles are broken down or where crashes have

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ns occurred. This can be an annoying and

frustrating experience because you may beslowed or stopped by vehicles blocking a lane oreven the whole road.

Effective scanning will help you detect a crashedor broken down vehicle ahead. This will allowyou time to slow down and position your carbest to get around the obstacle safely.

If you need or want to help people who areinvolved in a crash, make sure that you stopsomewhere safely first. You don’t want to beinvolved in a crash yourself. The RTA RoadUsers’ Handbook and RTA website(www.rta.nsw.gov.au) provide information onwhat to do at an accident scene.

Emergency vehicles

You should already know that you need to giveway to emergency vehicles that have sirensand/or flashing lights on. But you have to see orhear them first. You won’t come across themevery day and therefore may not expect to see orhear one.

Scanning is important in detecting emergencyvehicles because they can appear fromunexpected places. They may even beapproaching you on the wrong side of the roadat high speed. This is why it is important to beaware of what is going on 360 degrees aroundyour car (see Scanning for hazards, p 54).

If you think you can hear a siren, turn off theradio/stereo and wind down the window tolisten. This can help you work out where theemergency vehicle is.

POLICE

NSW • 001premier state

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Animals on the road

You might have seen numerous dead animals onor beside roads in the city and the country.Animals can be even more unpredictable thanhumans when they encounter a road. They canalso be very hard to see, particularly at night andon dark country roads.

Again, scanning is the first hazard perceptionskill that you can apply to avoid a collision withan animal. This means that you need to scan theroad and the sides of the road.

Where you know you are likely to encounteranimals, it is a good idea to slow down. Thisgives you a better chance of spotting animalsmoving on to the road and braking or swervingto avoid them. Look out for signs such as these.

Things are more difficult in built-up areas where

you are less likely to come across wild animalsor stock (eg sheep or cattle), but may encountercats and dogs. Even with good scanning skillsyou may not spot an animal in time to be able toavoid it. Remember that your safety and that ofother humans takes priority. So stop if you cando so safely, or steer round the animal. Your firstinstinct is probably to try to avoid hitting it. But ifavoiding it would mean colliding with othervehicles or pedestrians, or perhaps injuringyourself, it may be necessary to hit the animal.

The RTA Road Users’ Handbook and RTA website(www.rta.nsw.gov.au) provide information onwhat to do if you hit and kill or injure an animal.

STOCK�CROSSING�

NSW • 001premier state

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hazard perception is particularlyimportant

• hazard perception is particularly importantaround unprotected road users, large vehicles,road works, emergency vehicles and animals

• use the scanning routine to cope with theseand keep a safe distance from other roadusers

• give yourself plenty of time and space

Practice exercises

There are no specific practice exercises for thetopics covered in this chapter. The hazardperception skills required are the same as inprevious chapters. However, you may wish to re-visit the practice exercises at the end of thechapter on scanning as this is perhaps the mostimportant skill for managing these situations.

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Expecting the unexpected

The role of expectancies

When you drive you rely on “expectancies”. Forexample, you expect that other drivers will stopat red lights, that other drivers will give waywhen facing a Give Way sign and thatpedestrians will not suddenly dash on to theroad. Over time, drivers build up a range ofexpectancies based on their experiences withtraffic. This helps experienced drivers becomegood at predicting how a hazard might develop.

Think about the roads that you drive on a lot (eggoing to work, school or university). You get toknow what lane you should be in, where thereare often parked cars and where pedestriansoften cross the road.

Expectancies are useful and help you managethe driving task. Expectancies are OK most of thetime, but the unexpected does happen. This canlead to crashes when you rely on expectanciesrather than hazard perception skills.

The unexpected

By now you will have realised that the roadsystem is not perfect and that not all road usersobey the road rules all of the time. Some roadusers do not do what you expect them to do.

Imagine the woman in the following picture didnot look before crossing the road and so riskedbeing struck by a car.

Perhaps she expected that no cars would becoming on a quiet suburban street. Drivers needto be on the look out for this sort of behaviour. A driver with good hazard perception skills

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would have noticed the woman, taken action,and prevented a crash that may have killed orinjured the woman and her child.

Expecting the unexpected

Suggesting that you expect the unexpectedwhen driving is easy to say, but harder to do.Unfortunately, there are no magic formulas ortechniques for predicting when unexpectedhazards will pop up when driving.

The best way to deal with the unexpected is toapply the hazard perception skills covered in thisHandbook (and on the HPT websitewww.rta.nsw.gov.au/hpt.htm). The following areperhaps the key skills:

• Scan well ahead of your car – keep your eyesmoving.• Look for indicators on other vehicles.• Observe the head and eye movements of

other drivers (eg are they looking at you or at something else).

• Check for pedestrians, cyclists andmotorcyclists that may be hidden by othervehicles.

• Give yourself plenty of time to detect andcope with hazards and space to take someaction to avoid a crash.

• Slowing down is a good precaution as itgives you both time and space to copewith a hazard.

• Get lots of driving experience in a variety oftraffic conditions so that fewer situations arenew to you.

• If there is something that you feel youdon’t cope well with (eg heavy traffic), geta more experienced driver to help youlearn how to deal with it (eg drive as apassenger with them, watch what they doand ask them questions).

• Be cautious and wary in situations that arenew or different (eg roadworks, crashscenes).

• Make your car easier to see – if it is dull,overcast or raining turn your headlights on,even during the day.

Identifying the main hazard

Hazards rarely come one at a time when you’redriving. Often you will have to deal with morethan one at once. This means that you have toidentify the main hazard and deal with this first.For example, in the following picture the carmarked as B is the main hazard where you are

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the driver of the blue car. Car B has alreadystarted to back out of the parking space and maycome out in front of you. Its brake and reversinglights are on. There are other hazards such asthe vehicles marked A, C and D, but B is the onethat poses the main and most immediate hazardto you.

While car B should wait until you pass, the drivermay not have seen you or expects that you willlet them out. On the other hand, you expect thatthe car will not move out until you have passed.Given that you need to expect the unexpected, itwould be best to assume that the driver has notseen you until you have made eye contact andare sure that they will not come out in front ofyou. This means that you may slow down, moveto the right of the lane to give yourself morespace and cover the brake as precautions.

Key points summary: Expecting theunexpected

• drivers rely on expectancies when they drive

• the road system is not perfect – other driversand road users sometimes do not do whatyou expect

• to cope with the unexpected, use thescanning routine and keep a safe distancefrom other road users

• hazards rarely come one at a time so dealwith the main hazard first

• give yourself time and space to cope

AB

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Practice exercises

Think about how well you dealt with anyunexpected things that happened when youwere driving in the past week. Did you have tobrake or swerve to avoid a collision? Consider ifyou could have coped better and how this couldhave been done (eg spotting hazards earlier,scanning further ahead, giving yourself morespace between you and other vehicles). Talk toother drivers that you trust about how theywould have dealt with the situation. Could theyhave predicted that these situations would haveplayed out the way that they did?

Reviewing your performance, and that of others,should help build your experience bank ofhazards that can and do arise unexpectedly.

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A few final words about hazardperception

Experience and practice - the mainteachers

As a new driver you will take time to develophazard perception skills through gaining drivingexperience over time and across lots of differentdriving situations. Experience and practice willbe the main teachers.

Remember that the aim of this Handbook (andthe companion HPT website atwww.rta.nsw.gov.au/hpt.htm) is to help youdevelop hazard perception skills that will makeyou a safer driver and prepare you to undertakethe Hazard Perception Test (HPT). This will alsohelp make the road safer for other road users.Read the Handbook often, try the practiceexercises and visit the website.

You should be developing your hazardperception skills from the day that you get yourP1 licence. This Handbook (and the companionHPT website at www.rta.nsw.gov.au/hpt.htm) willhelp guide you, but can never be a substitute forexperience gained on real roads and in realtraffic.

Summary of key hazard perceptionskills

The basic hazard perception skills are:

• Keeping a safe distance from other vehicles.

• Selecting safe gaps when turning, crossingtraffic or changing lanes.

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• Scanning for hazards ahead, behind and tothe side.

Apply these skills effectively and they will helpyou deal with the unexpected situations that canarise when driving.

Practice, practice and more practice

You can’t learn any skill properly from a book ora website. You need to get out there and practiseto develop and improve your skills. Ask older,more experienced drivers to help you – it willmake the roads safe for them, too.

Good luck and safe driving!

NSW • 001premier state

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IndexAiding and cheating during the HPT 18After the confirmation screen 16Animals on the road 69Avoiding crashes 11Avoiding fatigue 58Buses 48,66Cheating on the HPT prohibited 18Confirmation screen buttons 16Crashes and breakdowns 67Crash patterns, provisional drivers 9,10Cyclists 64Emergency vehicles 68Expecting the unexpected 71Expectancies, general 71,72Experience and practice 6,11,75,76Failing the HPT 17Fatigue, avoidance 58Five most common crash types for provisional drivers 9,10

Where and when these crashes happen 10Comparison with full licence holders 10Why are provisional drivers involved in crashes? 10

Gap selection 35-53Glossary 79Hazard, definition 1,79Hazard perception 5,79

Hazard perception action plan 57,58Hazard perception skills 5,6

Three main skills 5,75Developing hazard perception skills 5,6,75-76Summary of key skills 75-76

Hazard perception test (HPT) 6Description 6Rationale for test 7,11

How to scan for hazards when driving 54How to use this handbook 8Identifying the main hazard 72If you fail the HPT 17Important hazard perception situations 62Interacting with the HPT computer 13Keeping a safe distance from other vehicles (see also, “space cushion”) 22

Front 22,29Sides 32Rear 34

Key hazard perception skills, summary 75Listening for hazards 57Look for change 56Main hazards, identifying 72Motorcyclists 65Overtaking 47-53Pedestrians 63Practice, the need for 6,20,75-76Practice exercises 28,31,42,59,70,74Practice questions 16

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Provisional driver crash patterns in NSW 9,10Real HPT questions 16Results and feedback screen 17Roadworks 67Role of expectancies 71Safe gap, definition 35,80Safe following distance 22,29Scanning for hazards 54-59Scanning routine 55Summary of scanning routine 56Smart scanning 56Selecting safe gaps in traffic 35-36

Crossing intersections 45-47Overtaking 47-53Turning left 37-39Turning right 39-42U turns 44-45

Sound button 14“Space cushion” concept 22“Space cushion” to the front 22“Space cushion” to the left and right 32-33Speed control 22-28Speed limits, speeding and crashing 24Speed, problems of 24Speeding and crash severity 25Speed and single vehicle crashes 26Taking the HPT 12-18Test instructions 14Three second following rule 29,30

Tips 27,33,47,53,59Trucks 48,66Turns

Left turns 37-39Right turns 39-42U turns 44-45

Turning right at traffic lights 41Unexpected, the 71Unexpected hazards 71-73Unprotected road users 63-66Website, HPT 21Website, RTA 21What is scanning? 54,80What you will see after the welcome screen 14Where to take the HPT 12When to take the HPT 12

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Glossary

Adjacent direction – coming from the left or rightacross your path

Arterial road – a main road that carries a lot oftraffic between suburbs or within cities or towns

Blind spot – area where your vision to the front,side or rear is blocked when driving

Commentary driving – a training anddevelopment technique of talking when you aredriving to indicate where you are looking, whathazards you are seeing and what action youmight take

Covering the brake – where your right foot is offthe accelerator and over the brake pedal withoutactivating the brake

Driver Qualification Test (DQT) – a combinationof an advanced hazard perception test, a furthertest of the road rules and safe driving practice.This test must be passed to progress from P2stage to full licence status

Following distance – the distance between yourvehicle and the vehicle travelling ahead of you inthe same direction. Following distance is alsocalled “headway”

Full Licence – licence issued to P2 drivers whohave held that licence for at least 24 months,have passed the Driver Qualification Test (DQT)

Hazard – any possible danger that might lead toan accident

Hazard perception – ability to recognise andrespond to potentially dangerous situations andreact appropriately

Hazard Perception Test (HPT) – a touch-screencomputer test which measures your ability torecognise and respond to potentially dangeroussituations and react appropriately when driving.Provisional drivers must pass this test toprogress from the P1 to P2 licence stage

Head check – looking over your shoulder to theleft or right to make sure that there’s nothing inyour blind spot. Also known as “shoulder check”

P1 Licence – provisional licence - Stage 1. This isthe first provisional licence issued to new solodrivers in NSW after 1 July 2000. It must be heldfor a minimum of 12 months before onebecomes eligible to progress to Stage 2. P1drivers must display a red P plate (red P on awhite background)

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P2 Licence – provisional licence - Stage 2. This isthe second licence issued to new solo drivers inNSW after 1 July 2000. It is issued for 30 monthsto drivers who have held a P1 licence for at least12 months and have passed the HazardPerception test (HPT). A P2 licence must be heldfor a minimum of 24 months. P2 drivers mustdisplay a green P plate (green P on a whitebackground). A P2 licence has fewer restrictionsthan a P1 licence.

Safe gap – a gap in traffic that enables you toturn, overtake or cross an intersection withoutbeing involved in a collision or endangeringother road users. This means that no other roadusers should need to take evasive action to avoidyour vehicle

Scanning – constantly moving your eyes and/oryour head when driving so that you can detecthazards that may arise ahead, to the sides andbehind your vehicle. Scanning means taking inthe whole scene 360 degrees around your car

Space cushion – a “buffer zone” around yourvehicle (to the front, sides and rear)between youand other vehicles and road users that gives youtime to spot and react to hazards that may arise

Warning signs – yellow diamond shaped signsthat warn you of hazards ahead (eg animals oran intersection)