-
Hazard perception in stage four
Find out how your learner will continue to develop their hazard perception skills in stage four.
In this topic
Hazard perception in stage four
See, think and do in complex environments
What your learner should do in complex environments
Blind spots in complex environments
How your learner gets better at hazard perception
Examples of how your learner can talk through see, think and do
Hazard perception in stage four
Developing good hazard perception skills is a key part of becoming a safe driver, but it takes time and experience.
In stage four, your learner will continue to develop hazard perception skills in all conditions and situations.
You’ll still be at their side in case they need you, but get them to try and use their hazard perception of see, think and do as if they were driving solo.
See, think and do in complex environments
A lot of things happen around your learner when they drive in complex environments.
You learner should look around their vehicle to know what’s going on to see, think about and respond to hazards safely.
They need to take into account the busier nature of complex environments and how quickly things change.
Always think about how a potential hazard may affect your learner and other roads users.
What your learner should do in complex environments
Blind spots in complex environments
Your learner may need to change lanes, merge or pass vehicles in other lanes on multi-lane roads.
This means they need to be extra careful to check their blind spot.
Make sure your learner does head checks to see what’s in their blind spot before changing or merging lanes.
Your learner should stay back from vehicles in other lanes and keep out of their blind spots.
Developing good hazard perception
It can take years to develop good hazard perception skills.
As your learner gains experience in a range of situations and environments, they’ll get better at seeing, thinking about and responding to potential hazards.
In stage four, you’ll be more like their passenger, so talk with them about how they’re managing hazards using see, think and do.
The best way for your learner to keep getting better at hazard perception is to get lots of on-road driving experience.
Encourage your learner to practice their skills with our online hazard perception practice test.
The hazard perception practice test
The online hazard perception practice test means your learner can test their hazard perception skills to identify potential hazards and react to other vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists in real-life driving scenarios.
The videos in the practice test are like the videos your learner will see in the real test, so it’s a good way for them to practise and prepare.