Safety Margins

• You have driven your car through a flood. What is the first thing you should do?

  Test your brakes
• Braking hard at a high speed on a sharp bend can make your vehicle unstable
• You are driving in heavy rain. Your steering suddenly becomes very light. You should ease off the accelerator
• When braking hard in a straight line, most of the weight of the vehicle will shift onto the front wheels
• Your vehicle does not have anti-lock brakes. If you are braking on a wet road and your vehicle begins to skid. What is the FIRST thing you should do?

  Release the footbrake fully
• You are turning left on a slippery road. The back of your vehicle slides to the right. You should steer carefully to the right
• You are on a long, downhill slope. What should you do to help control the speed of your car?

  Select a lower gear
• The 'two-second rule' allows you to keep a safe distance from the car in front
• You are about to go down a steep hill. To control the speed of your car you should select a low gear and use the brakes carefully
• Vehicles fitted with an anti-lock brake system can be steered while you are braking
• Coasting the car reduces the driver's control
• If you are at a junction with limited visibility, you should creep forward, looking both ways
• Your overall stopping distance will be longer when driving in the rain
• If you are on good, dry road surface and your vehicle has good brakes and tyres, what is the overall stopping distance at 48 kph?

  23 metres
• What is the most common reason a car skids?

  Driver error