4 Ways To Pass Your HGV Hazard Perception Test

Surrey & Hampshire Training Centre is dedicated to helping our drivers learn the ropes of driving HGV’s, from the practical side to the theory behind it all. Driver safety, procedures, how to identify hazards. We cover all of it and more in our training. But lately, we’ve been getting a lot of enquiries about the hazard portion of the HGV theory test. But if you prepare effectively, you should have no problems. Today, we’re going to give you 5 tips that will help you prepare for the hazard perception portion of your theory test.

 Define Developing Hazards

First of all, there are 2 types of hazard – a standard hazard and a developing hazard. You will be asked to spot both of them during your test. But if you’re not sure what a ‘developing hazard’ is, you just need to check with the DVLA. They define it as ‘something that would cause you to take action, like changing speed or direction.’ As an example:

“A car is parked at the side of the road and isn’t doing anything. It wouldn’t cause you to take action, so it’s not a developing hazard. When you get closer, the car’s right-hand indicator starts to flash and it starts to move away. You’d need to slow down, so it’s now a developing hazard.”

Once you understand the definition, you can start to identify developing hazards as you go about your day. While you’re training, driving your car, walking or just sitting in a coffee shop watching the road. If you can train yourself you see these things out in the world, then identifying them on the screen will be a breeze.

Practice, Practice, Practice

There is no substitute for practice, and in the run-up to your theory test, you’ll want to get as much of it as possible. There are a lot of different ways you can do this. You can get a lot of reading in, or you can do some more practical practice. There are dozens of practice tests available out there, or if you’re one of our students, we will provide some for you. As a trainee with Surrey & Hampshire HGV Training, we provide a wide range of training materials and software that will help you practice your hazard perception test. Take advantage of these resources and get yourself prepared.

Don’t Randomly Click

If you’re nervous or just feeling out of your depth, it might be tempting to randomly click on the hazard perception section and hope you get lucky. But that’s not a good idea. The software has been designed to protect against this. In fact, if it detects you excessively clicking or randomly clicking, it will actually mark you down or remove points from your overall score. So if you’re not sure, the best chance you have is to not click at all.

Get Some Rest

Sleep is vital to good brain performance. More importantly, to reaction times, which you need to be at their peak for a hazard perception test. You will need good reflexes, and that only comes from good rest. In the days leading up to your test, try to clean up your diet and feed your brain with good foods – like fish and grains. The night before, make sure you unplug yourself from social media, the TV or anything else that might distract you. Instead, just get yourself an early night and some good sleep.

Ultimately, the HGV hazard perception test isn’t an easy thing to do. But that’s a good thing. It stops unqualified and unsafe drivers operating HGV’s on our roads every day. But it does mean that if you want to drive an HGV professionally, you need to meet that bar and rise above it. If you’re thinking about getting your commercial driving license, we can help. At Surry & Hampshire Training Centre, we can help you through the entire process, from start to finish. Our expert trainers are on hand to deliver practical and theory training and support you through your hazard perception test. For more information, just get in touch with us today.