15.1 Weather, Night Driving & Road Works

15.1 Weather, Night Driving & Road Works

Quick Answer: On wet roads, allow braking distance at least doubled. In poor daytime visibility (heavy rain, smoke, mist, fog), switch on headlamps. At a flooded road, stop safely and check depth; if you drive through, go slowly with engine revs up, then try your brakes as soon as you are through (carefully if vehicles are behind). In fog/mist, slow down so you can stop within the distance you can see, use appropriate lamps, and do not fixate on someone else’s rear lights. At road works (including misty reflective temporary signs), slow, keep a safe distance, and expect people or vehicles to enter your lane. Red/black rainstorm and tropical cyclone conditions need extreme care and flood awareness.

Part B of the Taxi Written Test draws weather and works questions straight from the Road Users’ Code (RUC), June 2020 — mainly Chapter 5 themes on driving in difficult conditions, night and sunlight, and temporary road works. These items are high-yield because the official sample logic is simple and absolute: conditions change grip and sight; your speed, gap, and lights must change with them.

Why This Matters for Taxi Drivers

You cannot “wait for better weather” every hire. Hong Kong rain, typhoon season spray, hillside fog, night market glare, and constant road works are normal operating environments. Passengers may push for speed; the exam and real liability reward the driver who:

1. Keeps stopping room when surfaces are wet or flooded
2. Sees and is seen with correct lamps
3. Treats temporary signs and workers as live hazards, not optional decoration
4. Links official weather warnings (rainstorm, tropical cyclone) to more caution, not bravado

Wet Roads: Grip Falls, Distances Rise

Water between tyre and road reduces friction. The RUC’s practical teaching is fixed exam language:

On wet roads, braking distances increase. Allow at least double the normal braking distance.

What “at least double” means in practice

Also treat as extra-slippery when wet: painted lines, metal covers, tram/light-rail related metal, polished bitumen, and leaves. Smooth inputs matter more with passengers who can be thrown forward by late braking.

Headlamps in poor daytime visibility

Even in daylight, heavy rain, smoke, mist, or fog can cut visibility enough that other road users cannot see you in time. The RUC expectation: use headlamps so you are visible as well as so you can see. Do not rely on parking lamps alone for driving in seriously reduced visibility.

Flooded Roads: Stop, Assess, Then Restore Brakes

Flooding is a classic Hong Kong Part B scenario and a real taxi hazard under black/red rainstorms and blocked drains.

Decision sequence (learn the order)

1. Stop safely before committing to deep water if you can — do not charge a pool because the meter is running.
2. Check the depth (and think about current, hidden holes, and whether the road is still a road under the water). If it looks too deep or flowing strongly, turn around or wait — do not gamble the engine and cabin.
3. If you must drive through a passable flood: go slowly, keep engine revs up (to reduce water entry risk and maintain control), and stay in a steady line — no wake-making heroics that splash other users or stall the engine.
4. As soon as you have driven through a flooded road, try your brakes. This is an official sample-style correct answer. Water can wet brake components and reduce braking effectiveness until heat and light application dry them.
5. Test carefully if vehicles are behind you — a sudden full stop for “brake testing” can cause a rear-end crash. The professional pattern is: continue to a place where a gentle check is safe, apply brakes progressively at low speed until normal feel returns, then resume only when braking is reliable.

Exam trap language

Fog and Mist: Stop Within What You Can See

Fog and mist shrink the clear distance ahead. The governing rule from earlier speed teaching still applies: never drive so fast that you cannot stop well within the distance you can see to be clear.

High-yield fog/mist actions

1. Slow down immediately as sight shortens.
2. Leave a safe following distance — larger than dry clear-day gaps.
3. Use headlamps and, where fitted and appropriate, fog lamps; ensure rear lamps help others see you.
4. Do not fixate on someone else’s rear lamps as your only guidance. Tracking only the lights ahead can pull you too close, hide lane edges, and lure you into their crash if they stop suddenly.
5. Use road edge lines, cat’s eyes, and your own judgment of the clear road — not “follow that pair of red lights at any speed.”
6. If visibility collapses completely, find a safe place to stop well off the carriageway if possible; do not sit in a live high-speed lane with no lights.

Taxi professional angle

Explain calmly to passengers why you are slower: “I need enough distance to stop in what I can see.” That sentence is both customer service and exam-ready defensive driving language.

Wind, Tropical Cyclones, and Rainstorm Warnings

Strong wind

Crosswinds and gusts push high-sided vehicles, destabilise cyclists and pedestrians, and can slam open doors or shift loose objects. Leave extra room when passing people on foot or bikes, and expect sudden path changes near building corners, open waterfronts, and bridge approaches.

Tropical cyclone awareness

When tropical cyclone signals rise, expect:

• Heavy rain and flooding of low roads and underpasses
• Strong gusts and flying debris
• Reduced sight in spray
• More breakdowns and sudden stops

Professional duty is not “complete every hire at all costs.” It is safe carriage — and sometimes that means refusing to enter known flood paths, choosing higher ground routes, or stopping work when conditions become too dangerous.

Red / black rainstorm warnings

Treat official red and black rainstorm warnings as extreme-care signals:

• Flooding risk rises sharply on low-lying and poorly drained roads
• Visibility and grip both suffer
• Emergency services and traffic management may change patterns

Exam mindset: extreme care / flooding risk — not “drive as normal and hope.”

Night Driving and Bright Sunlight: See and Be Seen

Night

• Use headlamps correctly in hours of darkness and when required by conditions
• Keep windscreen, mirrors, and lamps clean — taxi dirt multiplies glare and hides hazards
• Dip beams for oncoming traffic and when following closely enough that full beam would dazzle
• Watch for pedestrians in dark clothing, workers, and poorly lit kerbs after drop-offs
• Match speed to what your lights actually illuminate, not to the dry daytime limit

Bright sunlight and glare

• Sun low in the morning/evening can hide traffic lights, pedestrians, and brake lights
• Use sun visors, keep glass clean, and slow when you are effectively half-blinded
• Expect other drivers to also be dazzled — leave more gap

See-and-be-seen is the memory hook: you need vision out, and you need others to detect you (lamps, position, predictable path).

Road Works: Temporary Rules Are Real Rules

Road works change lane paths, widths, and priorities. Cones, barriers, temporary signs, and workers create a moving hazard zone.

Core behaviours

1. Slow down before the works area — not inside it after the first worker appears.
2. Obey temporary signs and markings even if they conflict with the “usual” permanent layout you know by heart.
3. Keep a safe distance — stop-start queues and sudden lane shifts are normal.
4. Watch for persons and vehicles moving into your lane (works traffic, plant, workers stepping out).
5. Do not drive between cones into closed areas or use the works as a shortcut.

Official sample flavour: misty weather + reflective roadworks sign

A classic correct-response cluster:

• Slow down
• Keep a safe distance
• Be prepared for persons or vehicles moving into the lanes

Mist plus temporary reflective signing means sight is already reduced and the road geometry is not the one in your memory. Passenger lateness does not authorise speeding through cones.

Integrating Weather with Earlier Speed Rules

Section 12.2 taught: stopping distance = thinking + braking; wet roads need at least double braking allowance; never drive faster than you can stop in the clear view ahead. Section 15.1 applies that physics to named conditions:

Common Exam Traps

Closing Checklist for Section 15.1

1. Wet: ≥ double braking allowance; smooth early stops.
2. Poor daytime visibility: headlamps on.
3. Flood: stop, check depth; if driving through — slow, revs up; then try brakes carefully.
4. Fog/mist: slow, stop within view, lamps correct, no rear-lamp tunnel vision.
5. Wind/cyclone/rainstorm: space for vulnerable users; extreme flood care.
6. Night/sun: see and be seen; clean glass; speed matches real vision.
7. Road works: slow, safe distance, temporary signs, expect people/vehicles entering lanes.

Next, Section 15.2 covers what to do when weather or mechanical failure becomes a breakdown, emergency, or traffic accident — including warning others and professional taxi duties to passengers.