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Hazard perception in stage three
Find out how you’ll continue to develop your hazard perception skills in stage three.
In this topic
Hazards in stage three
Recap of see, think, do
Managing hazards in stage three
Safe following distances and the safety bubble
Examples of how to use see, think do
Unexpected hazards in stage three
How you get better at hazard perception
Help improve your hazard perception, scanning and concentration skills with Drive Smart
Hazards in stage three
In stages one and two, your supervising driver helped you a lot in looking for potential hazards on drives.
As you gain more experience in stage three, you’ll see more hazards and respond to them with less support from your supervising driver.
Make sure you still talk with your supervising driver about hazards you see and how you plan to respond, as talking out loud is a great way to focus your attention.
Near the end of stage three you’ll be driving in more complex situations, such as main roads, busy traffic and difficult conditions.
So always practise the three parts of hazard perception: see, think and do.
Recap of see, think, do
Developing good hazard perception skills is a key part of becoming a safe driver, but it takes time and experience.
In stage three, you’ll continue to develop the hazard perception skills to:
- See: look around for potential hazards to know what’s happening or has changed as you drive.
- Think: think about how a hazard may affect you and other road users to assess the risk it poses to you and what may happen to work out the safest response.
- Do: take control of the situation by slowing down and creating a safe space between your vehicle and the hazard.
Managing hazards in stage three
To help you manage hazards in stage three, you can:
- Drive slower in new situations, so you have more time to see and respond to hazards.
- Plan for what’s coming up ahead of you.
- Use your mirrors and do head checks, in case hazards are in your blind spot.
- Slow down and make extra space from other road users, such as people walking, bike riders and motorcyclists.
- Avoid driving in the blind spot of other vehicles.
- Keep a safe following distance and leave enough space around your vehicle.
The safety bubble
In stage two, you started to develop your skills in keeping a safe following distance and safety bubble.
These are important skills to keep developing in stage three to help manage hazards safely.
See
When you see:
People walking
Think
They may:
Cross the road in front of you.
Do
You can:
Give them extra space.
Slow down and be ready to stop.
Unexpected hazards in stage three
Hazards can sometimes be unexpected or less obvious, so you need to look for things that may hide the hazards.
As you’ll be driving in more complex situations in this stage, make sure you’re always practising your hazard perception of see, think and do.
Some examples of things that hide hazards are:
- Heavy vehicles, as they can make it hard to see what’s around them.
- Parked vehicles, as people walking may cross the road from behind them.
- Buildings and fences, as they may make it hard to see what’s behind them.
- Trees and bushes, as they can limit your vision.
- Other vehicles, as bike riders or motorcyclists may move between them.
- Crests and curves, as you can’t see what’s ahead.
How you get better at hazard perception
It can take years to develop good hazard perception skills.
The best way to get better at hazard perception is to get lots of on-road driving experience.
As you gain experience in a range of situations and environments, you’ll get better at recognising and responding to potential hazards.
You can help improve your hazard perception, scanning and concentration skills with TAC’s Drive Smart.
And you can also practice your skills with the hazard perception test online.