Driving Instructors Scottish Council
D.I.S.C.
Part 1 for ADIs Hazard Perception Test
You will score 1 at this point.
Running Time on the Clip: 02.37 = 1 mark
At this point in time, the car which was emerging from the left, has already come to a stop. At this stage, the driver of the car following the motorcycle, has now reached a position where it is very close to this hazard, at a visual distance, where only two hazard warning lines on the major road are still visible.
The car which you are taking observations from, is at this stage, at a distance of approximately 2 car lengths from the hazard.
You will score 0 at this point.
Running Time on the Clip: 02.38 = NIL
At this point in time, only one hazard warning line on the major road remains visible.
The car which you are taking observations from, is at this stage, at a distance of approximately 1 car length from the hazard.
For Example, under the current marking system, a candidate sitting the hazard perception test, when being shown the second clip with the car emerging, who presses the mouse, timed at either 02.36 or 02.37 on the clip, will still receive a lower mark such as 3, 2 or 1, even although they have by now, reached a point which is far too late, for them to take evasive action, by either changing speed, or direction.
Whereas, by way of comparison with the example shown, if the candidate should happen to observe the developing hazard slightly earlier, which would result in them pressing the mouse, timed at either 02.29, or 02.30 on the clip, they will actually score NIL , even although just one fraction of a second later at 02.31 on the clip, they would be awarded with the maximum score of 5 marks.
Personally, I would have expected the candidate to have been awarded, 3, or even 4 marks, if not 5, for pressing the mouse at this stage, where the hazard is first starting to develop, as would all experienced ADI's. I for one, would certainly not expect to have a NIL mark recorded against me, as would probably be the case in this example.
For example in the clip, when this same hazard with the car, first becomes circled in “Yellow”, this action takes place timed at 02.29 and remains on at 02.30, before the circle changes colour to “Red” at 02.31.
Surely this fact alone should confirm that the developing hazard can first be observed at this point in time, which is what all of you present here, have been attempting to teach your learner drivers for years.
With the scoring system which DSA have adopted for dealing with each developing hazard, what they are really saying is that anyone who takes RETROSPECTIVE OBSERVATION and who is late in pressing the mouse, deserves to receive at least some marks, whereas anyone who takes early observation and who presses the mouse immediately, will be penalised by being given a Nil marking..
I would now like to bring your attention back to the first hazard illustrated on the CD-Rom, which is an obstruction on the left hand side of the major road, caused by a car, which is currently in the process of being loaded onto a stationary car transporter. At this time, the car which you are taking observations from, is already following a motorcyclist at a safe distance, and you can now observe a cyclist, who is currently riding along within the cycle lane on the left towards this obstruction, which is blocking his path ahead within the cycle lane.
To anyone with a reasonable amount of driving experience, never mind someone like ourselves, looking ahead at this potential hazard, it should be patently obvious that within a very short period of time, this will become a developing hazard , as the cyclist really has no option, other than to start to move out to his right, to ride past this obstruction.
In the commentary on the clip, which is timed at 01.51, the following statement is made as the cyclist becomes circled in “Yellow”, “That cyclist, What is he going to do?”
No further comment is made until 01.57 on the clip, where the cyclist becomes circled in “Red”, which is the point where a click of the mouse, will allow the maximum 5 marks to be allocated. Although there is now a pause in the clip which lasts until 02.18, working on the same scoring basis as that used for the second hazard with the car emerging from the left, it would follow that the following marks, would be awarded, from the point where the cyclist is first circled in “Red” up to the point where the circle disappears at 02.22:
Running Time on the Clip: 01.57 through until 02.18 = 5 marks
At this point in time, which is where the cyclist looks round, he has reached a point where he is approximately a car length short of the side road on the left.
The car which you are taking observations from, is at this stage, following at a distance of approximately 4 car lengths from the cyclist.
Running Time on the Clip: 02.19 = 4 marks
At this point in time, the cyclist is now riding past the entrance to the side road, and has started to move out of the cycle lane, onto the broken white lines at the outer edge of the cycle lane.
The car which you are taking observations from, is at this stage, following at a distance of approximately 2 to 3 car lengths from the cyclist.
Running Time on the Clip: 02.20 = 3 marks
At this point in time, the cyclist has now reached a position where he is within two car lengths of the obstruction, he has crossed over the broken white lines and has now moved out of the cycle lane.
The car which you are taking observations from, is at this stage, following at a distance of less than 2 car lengths from the cyclist.
Running Time on the Clip: 02.21 = 2 marks
At this point in time, the cyclist is now within a car length of the obstruction, and has now moved out to the right, into a position which is at least a metre out from the cycle lane on the left.
The car which you are taking observations from, is at this stage, at a distance of approximately 1 to 2 car lengths from the cyclist.
Running Time on the Clip: 02.22 = 1 mark
At this point in time, the cyclist has now moved out into a position in the centre of the left hand lane, which will allow him to ride past the obstruction, caused by the car being loaded onto the car transporter.
The car which you are taking observations from, is at this stage, at a distance of which is less than 1 car length from the cyclist
Running Time on the Clip: 02.23 = NIL
At this point in time, the cyclist is now riding past the front of the car, which is being loaded onto the car transporter.
The car which you are taking observations from, is at this stage, already in the process of overtaking the cyclist.
For example in the above clip, the cyclist ahead is first circled in yellow and timed at 01.44 and is then mentioned in the commentary timed at 01.51, which is where the hazard first begins to develop, from there onwards, the cyclist gets closer to the obstruction, right up until the timing of 01.56 where a NIL mark would still be recorded.
Surely anyone with a scrap of common sense, can clearly see that between the timings of 01.51 and 01.56, this is a developing hazard, which is what we are supposed to be looking for, despite this fact, anyone pressing the mouse, even as often as five times in a row, during these times would still receive a NIL mark.
In addition to this, anyone watching this particular clip, would obviously be observing the whole picture ahead, not just the cyclist at this time, they would also be watching the actions of the motorcyclist ahead, where:
Timed at 01.54 on the clip:
The motorcyclist who is approximately 5 car lengths away from the cyclist, has anticipated his next move and has already started to move out to his right.
The car which you are taking observations from, is at this stage, at a distance of approximately 12 car lengths from the cyclist.
Timed at 01.55 on the clip:
The motorcyclist has by now moved out slightly further to his right and has reached a point, where he is about to ride past the “schoolchildren warning sign” on the left, and is almost level with the traffic island and “keep left” sign in the middle of the road.
The car which you are taking observations from, is at this stage, at a distance of approximately 9 car lengths from the cyclist.
Timed at 01.56 on the clip:
The motorcyclist has now moved out even further, into a position which is very close to the white lines on his right, and where he is riding past the bus stop on the left..
The car which you are taking observations from, is at this stage, at a distance of approximately 5 to 6 car lengths from the cyclist.
Once again anyone pressing the mouse at any point, timed between 01.54 and 01.56 where this hazard is developing, should be scoring at least 1, 2, or even 3 or 4 marks, certainly not NIL, especially when just a fraction of a second later, if the mouse is pressed, timed at exactly 01.57, 5 marks will be awarded .