Identifying Hazards When Driving – How To Guide

When driving, hazards can appear out of the blue. During your driving lessons you will learn the tools on how to spot and appropriately respond to hazards as and when they appear. You won’t experience every road hazard on your driving lessons though.

With practice and experience you should be able to comfortably know how to handle more scenarios. But when starting out with hazards you need to know how to identify them. This is something that we’re going to look at in this guide.

What are you looking out for?

A hazard refers to any possible source of danger on or near the road that could lead to an accident.

From navigating tricky weather conditions to responding to lightning quick changes on the road ahead, identifying hazards is something that all drivers deal with on a daily basis.

In an ideal world all road users would follow the rules and behave responsibly. In the real world, this isn’t always the case. Vehicles themselves can malfunction at the best of times. That’s why you should always have your eyes on the road to spot any potential hazards as soon as they appear.

Sometimes people are not behind the hazards. Nature can also throw-up a hazard or two – be it the wind, rain, snow, fog or animals running wild on the road.

Common hazards include:

• child or dog chasing a ball onto the road
• parked car door opening
• deer, sheep or horses in the road
• vehicle merging into your lane or stopping suddenly in front of you
• slippery road surface after rain or snow
• cyclist or pedestrian moving in front of you

Knowing how to identify hazards when driving is something that should help you pass your hazard perception test – part of your theory test. The possibilities are endless, but as long as you expect the unexpected on the road you should be well equipped to handle the hazards.

Looking for a 5 Day Driving course in the Peterborough area? GoGoGo is on hand to help take you from complete beginner to road savvy in as little as 5 days. Visit our website to book your course slot today.

Hazard perception is a key skill when driving, so read our other Go Learning articles to learn more and stay safe on the roads.