Hazard Perception Test

What is the Hazard Perception Test?

The Hazard Perception Test is the second part of the Driving Standards Agency's Theory Test which every learner driver must sit and pass before they can move on to the job of taking their practical driving test.

During the Hazard Perception Test the learner driver will have to identify positively - and quickly - any potential hazard that would cause an accident if he or she were actually behind the wheel of a car when it happened.

The pass mark required for a successful pass in this part of the Theory Test is forty-four correct answers out of a possible seventy five.

The Aim of the Hazard Perception Test

Simply the aim of the Hazard Perception Test is to find out if the learner driver during their time behind the wheel of a car under instruction - or through using the Highway Code - can accurately identify, and avoid, a series of potential accidents. This is an important aspect of any driver's learning process as it is during their time as a learner driver that they will be asked to look out for potential hazards whilst behind the wheel of a car. Hazard Perceptions is quite simply all about spotting the accident before it happens.

Hazards to Look Out For

Whilst you are undergoing the Hazard Perceptions test you will be shown fourteen clips of video footage out of a total of two hundred. Each of the video clips will contain at least one potential hazard and in some instances two. You will however always have a minimum of one hazard to spot and accurately select.

These hazards could include some of the following:

• A bus pulling out
• A child stepping into the road between parked cars
• Woman with pram making her way to the kerbside
• Vehicles turning into oncoming traffic
• Vehicles doing U-turns in the road
• Cyclists performing dangerous manoeuvres in the road
• Vehicles failing to signal

The list is a long one and there is no guarantee that any of the above will show up during your test. However they have been listed here as an example of the sorts of hazard that have been displayed in the past.

How the Hazard Perception Test is Taken

As we have already mentioned the Hazard Perception Test is taken as Part Two of the Theory Test and must be passed - along with Part One - in order to achieve a pass mark.

You will be required to use a mouse and to click upon the hazards before they happen. The faster you identify and click on the hazard the higher the points score you will achieve. Each hazard has a time scale attached to it and the faster you spot the hazard the higher the mark out of five you will score.

If you fail to identify a hazard in time or click on the same hazard more than once during the clips' duration then a zero mark is awarded.

It is important where possible that you practice as much as you can for this part of the test as - unlike Part One which affords you the option of reviewing your answers before the time is up - this part of the Theory Test is no longer accessible once the time is up.

Prior to the Hazard Perception Test beginning there is a short film on how it works; it is advisable that you take the time to watch this and follow the instructions given.

Again your driving instructor - if he or she is part of a driving school - will be able to provide you with a copy of practice Theory Tests as part of your lesson fees or you can buy a CD-ROM of both tests yourself from many good high street stockists. You will find most bookshops stocking the Theory Test discs and guides.

In addition the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) has practice Theory Tests (but not the Hazard Perception Test as yet) that you can try for free online.