Road safety course · All road users
Defensive driving essentials
Six short lessons on following distance, speed, distraction, fatigue, vulnerable road users and alcohol, with a ten-minute assessment.
- 35 minutes
- 6 lessons
- 8 questions, pass mark 70%
Lesson 1 of 6
Keep a safe following distance
Most rear-end crashes happen because a driver is too close to the vehicle ahead. Pick a fixed point such as a road sign. When the vehicle ahead passes it, count one thousand and one, one thousand and two, one thousand and three. If you reach the point before you finish counting, you are too close.
In rain, fog, at night or behind heavy vehicles, double the gap to six seconds.
Remember
- Use the three-second rule in good conditions
- Double it in rain, at night or behind trucks
Defensive driving essentials