12.1 Defensive Driving and Hazard Perception

Most crashes are caused by drivers who see a hazard too late. Defensive driving means planning for what might happen, so that your speed and position leave room for other people's mistakes.

The core routine: mirror, signal, manoeuvre

Before any change of speed or direction:

1. Mirrors. Check the interior mirror and the door mirror on the side you are moving to.
2. Signal. Signal in good time, if a signal would help anyone (reg. 31(11)).
3. Manoeuvre, which breaks down into position, speed and look: get into position, adjust your speed, and take a final look, including over your shoulder, before committing.

Barbados test papers phrase the routine for moving off as "mirror, look, signal, manoeuvre." The "look" is the over-the-shoulder check of the blind spot, which mirrors cannot show. Before overtaking, the same routine applies, with a long look ahead (see 5.1).

Observation

• Look well ahead: 12 to 15 seconds ahead in towns and further on open roads. You want to see the hazard before it reaches you.
• Scan: move your eyes between the road ahead, the mirrors, the sides of the road and the instruments.
• Blind spots: check over your shoulder before moving off, changing lanes or merging. Motorcycles and cyclists hide easily.
• Keep your view clear. Regulation 31(2)(c) forbids driving in a position, or letting anyone else be in a position, that stops you having proper control or a full view of the road ahead. Keep windows clean, and do not hang objects that block the windscreen.

Reading the road

Barbados test papers reward drivers who spot clues:

Space around your vehicle

• Ahead: a two-second gap, doubled in the wet (see 6.2).
• Behind: if someone is too close, increase your gap ahead so that you can brake gently.
• Sides: give cyclists, pedestrians and parked cars room, and avoid driving alongside other vehicles in their blind spots.
• When stopped in traffic, leave enough room to see the rear tyres of the vehicle in front, so that you can pull round it if it breaks down.

Courtesy and communication

• Cancel indicators after turning. A signal left on may lead another driver to pull out in front of you. Barbados test papers ask why you should cancel your indicators, and the answer is so that you do not mislead other road users.
• Use the horn only to warn of your approach or position (reg. 31(16)).
• Let people overtake. Keep left, do not speed up, and drop back if needed (reg. 31(5)(c)).
• Do not rely on other drivers' hand waves or headlight flashes. Check for yourself.

Control

• Riding the clutch. Barbados test papers ask why it is dangerous to hold the clutch down for long periods. Holding the clutch down means the engine is not driving the wheels, so the vehicle coasts, with less control and no engine braking, and the clutch wears quickly. Use the clutch only to move off, change gear and stop.
• Coasting in neutral, especially downhill, removes engine braking. Stay in gear.
• Steering: keep both hands on the wheel except when changing gear or signalling.

A hazard-perception routine

Use the same four questions every time you see something that might develop:

1. What could happen? A parked van's door could open, a child could follow a ball, a bus could pull out.
2. Who is at risk? You, the other driver, a pedestrian, a cyclist, an animal.
3. What is my escape route? Is there space to stop, or room to the side?
4. What do I do now? Usually: mirrors, ease off the accelerator, cover the brake, adjust your position.

Acting early, by easing off before the hazard, is smoother and safer than braking hard when it happens. It also gives drivers behind you more warning.

Attitude

Defensive drivers stay calm. If another driver makes a mistake, slow down and let them sort it out rather than retaliate. Leave earlier rather than rushing. Plan your route, and accept that a few minutes lost is better than a collision.