Chapter 4 Anticipating hazards in the driving environment

Question 1

How does night driving affect the driver?

Answer 1

Your body wants to slow down as night draws on and you’re more likely to grow tired. Night driving puts extra strain on your eyes. Even slight eyesight irregularity can cause stress and tiredness.

Question 2

How to prepare your vehicle for night driving?

Answer 2

• Make sure that all windows, mirrors and the lenses of lights and indicators are clean to give yourself the best possible visibility. The slightest film of moisture, grease or dirt on windows or mirrors will break up light and increase glare, making it harder to see whats going on.
• Check your lights are correctly aligned and adjusted for the vehicle load.
• The bulbs should all work and the switching equipment should function correctly.

Question 3

How to use lights when driving in the dark?

Answer 3

• On unlit roads put your headlights on main beam and only dip them for other road users.

Question 4

When should you use dipped headlights?

Answer 4

• In built-up areas with streetlights
• In situations when dipped headlights are more effective than the main beam, such as when going around a left-hand bend or at a hump in the road.
• In heavy rain, snow and fog, these reflect glare from your headlights on full beam.
• dip headlights to avoid dazzling oncoming drivers
• when you overtake another vehicle, return to full beam when you’re parallel with it.

Question 5

When would you use fog lights?

Answer 5

When visibility is 100 meters (328 feet) or less.

Question 6

How should you drive at night?

Answer 6

Always drive so that you can stop safely within the distance you can see to be clear on your own side of the road. At night, this is the area lit by your headlights unless there are full street lights. Even in the best conditions, your ability to assess the speed and position of oncoming vehicles is reduced at night, so allow an extra safety margin.

Question 7

How to follow other vehicles at night?

Answer 7

Dip your headlights and leave a large enough gap so that your lights don’t dazzle the driver in front.

Question 8

How to overtake a vehicle at night?

Answer 8

Move out early with your headlights still dipped. If you need to warn the other driver that you’re there, flash your lights instead of using the horn. Return to full beam when you’re alongside the other vehicle. If you’re being overtaken, dip your headlights when the overtaking vehicle draws alongside you and keep them dipper until you raise them without dazzling the other driver.

Question 9

How can you use information from other vehicles lights?

Answer 9

You can get a great deal of useful information from the front and rear lights of other vehicles, for example, the sweep of headlights of vehicles ahead approaching a bend can indicate the sharpness of the bend and the brake lights of vehicles in front can give you early warning to reduce speed.

Question 10

Explain dazzle.

Answer 10

Headlights shining directly into your eyes may dazzle you. The intensity of the light bleaches the retinas of your eyes so that you can see nothing for some moments. This can happen when:
- Sharp right hand bends
- steep inclines
- when the lights of oncoming vehicles are undipped or badly adjusted.

Question 11

How to avoid dazzle?

Answer 11

Look towards the nearside edge of the road.

Question 12

Explain the three kinds of reflective studs and markings.

Answer 12

Centre lines: one cat’s eye every other gap.
Hazard lines: one cat’s eye every gap.
Double white lines: twice as many cat’s eyes as hazard lines

Question 13

How to improve observation at night?

Answer 13

• Keep your speed down when you leave brightly lit areas to allow time for your eyes to adjust to the lower level of lighting
• any light inside the vehicle that reflects off the windows will distract you and reduce your ability to see.
• Some glasses with tinted or photochromatic lenses may be unsuitable for night driving, so check with your optician

Question 14

Explain how to drive in bad weather conditions?

Answer 14

• careful observation
• good anticipation
• the correct speed
• adequate braking distances

Question 15

Give 4 examples of weather conditions that reduce visibility.

Answer 15

• fog and mist
• heavy rain
• snow and sleet
• bright sunshine, especially when it’s low in the sky

Question 16

How to use lights in bad weather?

Answer 16

• switch on your dipped headlights when visibility is poor in daylight or fading light. Use dipper headlights in fog or heavy rain in daylight, because sidelights are virtually invisible.
• As a general rule, use your dipped headlights whenever your wipers are in constant use.
• When there’s fog or falling snow at night, fog lights often give a better view than dipped headlights. Use them if visibility is 100 metres (328 feet) or less.
• Switch off your fog lights when you leave the fog so you don’t dazzle other drivers.
• Don’t use your main headlight beam when you’re behind another vehicle in fog - it may dazzle the driver and will cast a shadow of the vehicle on the fog ahead, disrupting the driver’s view.
• The brightness of rear fog lights can mask the brake lights - allow more distance between you and the car in front and aim to brake gently yourself.

Question 17

Using auxiliary controls and instruments in bad weather?

Answer 17

• Make full use of your washers and wipers to keep your windscreen and rear window as clear as possible
• When there’s a possibility of freezing fog, put freeze-resistant screen wash in the screen wash reservoir
• In fog, rain or snow, regularly check your speedometer for your actual speed
• Low visibility distorts your perception of speed so you cant rely on your eyes to judge speed accurately.

Question 18

How to use observation when visibility is low?

Answer 18

• Keep to a slow steady pace
• use the edge of the carriageway, hazard lines and cats eyes as a guide
• staring into featureless misy tires the eyes quickly, focus instead on what you can see: the vehicle in front, the edge of the road or the road ahead.
• Avoid fixing the focus on the tail lights of the vehicle in front because they’ll draw you towards it.

Question 19

Explain microclimates.

Answer 19

These cause frost and wet patches to linger in some areas after they’ve disappeared elsewhere. Ice can linger in landscape features such as valley bottoms, shaded hillsides and shaded slopes or large areas of a shadow cast by trees or buildings. Bridge surfaces are often colder than the surrounding roads because they’re exposed on all sides and can be icy when their approach roads are not.

Question 20

What’s the difference in road surface from a downwards to the inside of the curve compared to a surface that slopes upwards to the inside of the curve?

Answer 20

• Surfaces that slope downwards to the inside of the curve help cornering.
• Surfaces that slope upwards to the inside of the curve make corners more difficult.

Question 21

Explain the grip characteristics and problems of tarmac or asphalt.

Answer 21

Grip characteristics- tarmac or asphalt surfaces give a good grip when they’re dressed with stones or chips.
Problems- In time they become polished and lose some of their skid-resistant properties.

Question 22

Explain the grip characteristics and problems of anti-skid surfaces.

Answer 22

Grip characteristics - high grip anti-skid surfaces are designed to give extra grip on the approach to fixed hazards such as roundabouts, traffic lights and zebra crossings
Problems- When newly laid, loose gravel on the surface can reduce grip, and patches can become polished over time.

Question 23

Explain the grip characteristics and problems with concrete.

Answer 23

Grip characteristics- concrete road surfaces often have roughened ribs, which give a good skid-resistant surface.
Problems- some hold water, which freezes in cold weather and creates a slipper surface that isn’t easily seen.

Question 24

Explain the grip characteristics and problems with cobbles, brick paving, pavers or road paint.

Answer 24

Grip characteristics- low grip when wet.
Problems- Rain increases the likelihood of skidding

Question 25

Explain the grip characteristics and problems of metal hazards on the road surface.

Answer 25

Grip characteristics- poor grip when dusty or wet.
Problems- Rain increases the likelihood of skidding.

Question 26

How would you know that you’re travelling on ice?

Answer 26

Travelling on ice makes virtually no tire noise.

Question 27

What effect can driving at speed through water have?

Answer 27

Driving at speed through water can sharply deflect the front wheels and cause you to lose control.

Question 28

How to drive through water in a manual and automatic gear box?

Answer 28

Manual gearbox:
- engage first gear and keep the engine running at just above idle
- In older vehicles, driving at higher revs could prevent water from being drawn into the exhaust system
- In newer vehicles, the air intake is positioned below the front bumper, so avoid high revs as this would cause water to be sucked into the engine
Automatic gearbox:
-see manufacturers handbook

Question 29

Explain why some signs are on top of each other.

Answer 29

On road signs, the furthest hazard is shown at the bottom and the nearest at the top.

Question 30

Explain the acronym OUR when using road signs and markings.

Answer 30

• Observe
• Understand
• React

Question 31

Are collisions disproportionately frequent on familiar roads?

Answer 31

Yes

Question 32

What are observation links?

Answer 32

Observation links are clues to physical features and the likely behaviour of other road users.v

Question 33

How to prepare your vehicle for night driving?

Answer 33

• Make sure that all windows, mirrors and the lenses of lights and indicators are clean to give yourself the best possible visibility. The slightest film of moisture, grease or dirt on windows or mirrors will break up the light and increase glare, making it harder to see what’s going on.
• Check your lights are correct;y aligned and adjusted for the vehicle load.
• The bulbs should all work and the switching equipment should function correctly.