Fatigue and Defensive Driving Practice Questions

Answer: Leave the highway and find a safe place to stop

If you begin to feel sleepy, pull off the road, stop and rest. Fresh air does not cure tiredness, it only delays the moment you notice it. Stopping at the side of a fast road leaves you where traffic is still going past, so leave the road and stop somewhere safe.

Answer: Allows the driver to see you in the mirrors

Keep a safe following distance behind any vehicle, and more behind a big one. A large vehicle blocks your view of the road ahead, and its driver sees only what is in the mirrors. Sitting close behind puts you in neither, so the driver does not know you are there.

Answer: To check how your actions will affect following traffic

You should glance in your mirror often so you always know what is behind you. When a hazard appears ahead you may need to slow or change position, and the mirror tells you whether a following vehicle is close enough to be affected. So you check how your actions will affect following traffic.

Answer: Stop and then move forward slowly and carefully for a proper view

Never venture where you cannot see. If parked vehicles hide the road at the end of yours, stop first, then move forward slowly and carefully until you can see clearly both ways before you turn right. Do not rush out to block one side, and never rely on a pedestrian to judge the traffic for you.

Answer: Stay at least three seconds behind the vehicle in front of you

Leave enough space to stop if the vehicle in front stops, which is the gap the yellow arrow marks. The Code gives a two second rule, and one vehicle length for every 15 km/h of your speed. The gap this paper works to in good conditions, at any speed, is three seconds.

Answer: Take longer and further to stop, so slow down

A wet road gives your tyres less grip, so the vehicle takes longer and further to stop than it would on a dry one. The Code tells you to reduce speed in rain and to keep a longer following distance than normal. Slow down, and the extra stopping distance is there when you need it.

Answer: Slow down, until your eyes recover

If oncoming headlights dazzle you, slow down, and stop if you have to, until your eyes recover. Cast your eyes slightly to the left and follow the left edge of the road. Closing your eyes leaves you driving blind, and the centre line puts you looking straight into the lights.

Answer: Turn on your headlights, slow down, and double your following distance behind the vehicle in front

Use your headlights whenever visibility is limited, so other drivers can see you through the rain. Reduce speed and keep a longer following distance than normal, since you can see less and the wet road takes longer to stop you. Flashing your lights only tells a driver to dip.

Answer: Your wheels may skid and cause a loss of control

A wet road gives your tyres less grip. Brake hard on it and the wheels can lock and slide, and a sliding wheel does not steer, so the vehicle keeps going where it was pointed. Brake early and gently, and leave a longer following distance than you would on a dry road.

Answer: Slow down and use your low beam headlights and hazard warning lights to make your vehicle seen

Use your headlights when visibility is limited, and fog lights only where they are fitted. High beam shines back off fog, and following closer leaves less room to stop. Slow down and use low beam headlights with your hazard warning lights so you are seen; the hazard lights in fog are this paper's advice.

Answer: Not look at its headlights, but keep left and watch the left of the road

Do not look at the headlights coming at you, since the glare leaves you seeing nothing for a moment. Cast your eyes slightly to the left, keep well to your own side of the road and follow the left edge until the vehicle has passed. Your own high beam only dazzles that driver too.

Answer: Check over your shoulder

The drill is mirror, blind spot, signal, then move. The mirror does not show the space just behind your right shoulder, so the look over your shoulder is the last thing before you pull out. The red car has signalled right, and a cyclist coming past would be sitting in that space.

Answer: Check your mirrors and look over your shoulder before moving off from the kerb

Never set the vehicle in motion until you have looked around it, and do not drive onto the road until it is clear. Check the mirrors, then look over your shoulder at the space they do not show, and only then pull out. A look taken while walking up is already out of date.

Answer: Drive during the day, take plenty of breaks and share driving if possible

Avoid long journeys at night, since fatigue makes them dangerous, and if you feel sleepy you must pull off and rest. Travel by day, break the drive up with stops and share the driving if someone else can take a turn. Pushing on while you feel fine is how you end up tired at speed.

Answer: A gap of about 4 seconds as it is easy to misjudge distances at night

You see less at night and distances are harder to judge, so the gap you keep must be bigger than the one you keep by day. The Code gives a two second rule and tells you to increase it in bad light. The gap this paper works to at night is about four seconds.

Answer: Stay calm and in control of your vehicle at all times

Never retaliate when another driver behaves badly. The Code calls it degrading and dangerous. Stay calm and keep control of your own vehicle. Chasing, sounding your horn or flashing your lights only draws that driver into a contest, and then two of you are driving badly.

Answer: Pull off the road, stop and rest until you no longer feel tired

If you begin to feel sleepy while driving, pull off the road, stop and rest until the tiredness has gone. A drink with caffeine in it and an open window only cover the feeling for a while, and the tiredness is still there, waiting to become sleep at the wheel.

Answer: Continually looking ahead, to the sides and using all mirrors when driving

Scanning is watching the whole road, not one part of it. You keep your eyes moving: well ahead for signs, markings and anything slowing down, to both sides for what other road users are doing, and into all your mirrors for the road behind. Doing all three, all the time, is what scanning means.

Answer: Start driving in daylight where it is not too busy and only drive in busier traffic as your driving gets better

Even with a full licence you still have much to learn, and you are asked to be particularly careful while gaining experience. Start in daylight where the road is quiet, and move on to busier traffic only as your driving improves. Parties with friends and every kind of traffic at once are the wrong place to learn.

Answer: When I drive, I have the main responsibility for my safety and the safety of other road users

The Code puts the responsibility on you, and warns that it is dangerous to assume another driver will give way just because they should. Luck decides nothing, and waiting for other drivers to avoid you leaves you doing nothing. Treating your safety and theirs as your own job is what makes you safer.