The hazard perception part on the theory test

Lord_Kokain · 26 Sep 2007 at 11:20

Well, yesterday I happened to fail my theory test for the second time in exactly the same manner where the first part was quickly done(even when they are now 50 questions from September) and miss the hazard perception part by a few marks.

Now for the latter, Im not going for a rant since I know its purpose and I agree it should be there, but it bugs me because I have been mock-practising it at home for more than a month, three times a day and at some point I simply always passed it. Yet when it came to the actual tests, I did this part twice and failed it twice so my question is:

Are the hazard perception tests from the mock and the actual test different? I mean of course they would have different clips but in the sense of, for instance, the first being done to allow more time to click on a hazard or something. Its just that when I failed it the first time, I said to myself that its to do with the lack of much driving experience or being nervous(or both...) but doing so for second time seems as no coincidence to me.

digisatman · 26 Sep 2007 at 12:09

gord · 26 Sep 2007 at 12:44

I failed the hazard perception my first time. Was absolutely gutted because i should have passed.. was only a few points off the boundary.

The second time i went i just kept clicking. Thats not clicking every 5 seconds, but as soon as i thought i saw something i clicked.. if something happened straight after i clicked.. more things more clicks..

Clicking is the answer, just dont get the system to give you 0.

Slinwagh · 26 Sep 2007 at 12:49

Me and a friend for a laugh did a few HPT

We each started the test, turned away from the screen and had the mouse in our hand so we could not see the screen but could click.

The other one of us watched the test and told the other when each clip started and ended we would just click randomly through the clip.

We did 5 tests between us and passed two, one each a it happens.

Now I will admit that this isn't very scientific and probably not recommended for the actual test but it gives you some idea how daft the tests are.

furnace · 26 Sep 2007 at 13:04

The hazard perception is a load of BS - not the idea of it, just the way it's implemented. If it were touch screen and you had to 'poke' all the hazards on the screen and get points for each, that'd be good. But clicking within 5 seconds of one hazard occuring per clip is a load of total BS. BS BS BS..! lol.

But that's how I passed it and coached the gf to pass first time

I'll explain in case you didn't know, apologies in advance if I'm just saying what you already know

But this is what I learnt/figured (click the link):
http://paste.lisp.org/display/48257

Clicking too much will get you marked as cheating for that clip. That's what happened to me when I did what the DVD I got told me to do (concealed entrance? *click* pedestrian? *click* etc).

The DVD really isn't clear enough, and the test really doesn't make any sense in practise because of the way it works (or doesn't work).

LewisStuart · 26 Sep 2007 at 13:09

I got 58 out of 75 ...& I was trying

Just click every 4 secs

fRostiE · 26 Sep 2007 at 13:34

failed mine first time too, got 35/35 on the questions and just missed the hazard perception by afew marks, but doesnt everyone

the DVD i used was quite useful, was just unlucky on my first go i guess

Luke · 26 Sep 2007 at 13:51

I found it bloody easy and got a score which was apparently high.
There is little excuse (that I can think of anyway) to fail that test. I'm amazed so many people have failed it.

furnace · 26 Sep 2007 at 13:59

The test hardly represents ability. It's useless. A good concept but rubbish implementation.

I failed first time (because I was cheating, apparently :rolleyes:

), passed 2nd time. I have 2 mates who passed first time, yet they have both written off cars, and I pass 2nd time and have drove much much more than them, and am yet to have a dent... And they crashed due to poor hazard perception (one rolled after swerving past a horse he didn't notice, the other crashed into a parked car "just around a corner" - turns out it was about 100m after it). SO THERE!

Luke · 26 Sep 2007 at 14:09

You see something that could be a hazard - you click.
It was straight forward to me...

I suppose I must just be some kind of observation god. Hang on, I've got 3 speeding convictions so that can't be it!

gord · 26 Sep 2007 at 14:22

Problem is peoples perception of hazard.. then add that dont they want potential hazards.. i mean yes people at the side are potential hazards.. but so are meteors.. and you just cant see them so easily.. so im looking at the sky and im'a click'n.. theres a bird and im'a click'n

furnace · 26 Sep 2007 at 14:33

emailiscrap said:
I suppose I must just be some kind of observation god. Hang on, I've got 3 speeding convictions so that can't be it!

They should have a section of the test called "noticing static and mobile speed cameras" to get us used to slowing down for them

Dangerman3 · 26 Sep 2007 at 15:07

actually not everyone does fail first time me i passed first time with flying colours in my eyes anyway, questions 34/35 and hazard perception score of 70.

just clicking every second doesnt do it its your sense of awareness that does it. knowing what a hazard is and seeing something before something else happens example a person walking down the road and walkes in between two cars to cross the road in front of you. Knowing when to click and seeing this is why they do the hazard perception.

and to furnace i passed first time and have yet to crash and ive been driving two years lol

my friend went for his haqzard perception test a year back and obviously failed when i asked him why he failed he said he didnt have a clue what he was clicking for.

Lord_Kokain · 26 Sep 2007 at 15:23

I agree that it would have made much more sense if we had to point out the hazards, otherwise there is always this uncertainty whether you havent simply clicked too early(i.e. whether the software sees it as a hazard) since lots of hazards are seen way before 5 seconds time and sometimes the program sees it as 0 points for clicking too early.

But that's how I passed it and coached the gf to pass first time I'll explain in case you didn't know, apologies in advance if I'm just saying what you already know But this is what I learnt/figured (click the link):
http://paste.lisp.org/display/48257

Thanks for the link!

I was wondering though...imagine there is the situation of seeing a hazard on the road from far away and you click, say, on the 5th second before reaching it but since you are unsure whether its not clicked too early, you click again 2 seconds later(i.e. 3 seconds before the hazard=3 points). Would it then count the first click for 5 points or disallow it and count the second for 3? That bothered me every time but I never got to find out for sure.

furnace · 26 Sep 2007 at 15:24

First click would be counted

That's what I've always thought anyway! Yeah I'm pretty damn sure that your first click is counted. Otherwise I would have got a stupidly low score because I always clicked again just as the hazard happened.

Phoebs · 26 Sep 2007 at 15:50

i failed most if not all of my practise tests but passed the real thing first time

jackthezipper · 26 Sep 2007 at 15:55

It's not hard.

See people on pavement, click.
See a corner, click.
See a parked car, click.
See a car coming other way, click.
See traffic light, click.

As soon as anything appears on the screen click.

furnace · 26 Sep 2007 at 16:01

jackthezipper said:
It's not hard.

See people on pavement, click.
See a corner, click.
See a parked car, click.
See a car coming other way, click.
See traffic light, click.

As soon as anything appears on the screen click.

That was the method I used on my first test, and it thought I was cheating...

stoofa · 26 Sep 2007 at 17:38

Just to put a few of you to shame.
My mum (58) is currently learning to drive - due to the loss of my father she needs to be able to get out and about and she is learning for her automatic license.
Anyway, 4 weeks ago she took and passed her Theory test first time.
This was after zero road hours - her first actual driving lesson wasn't until Tuesday just gone.
Simply by using her copy of the Highway Code and the DVD everyone goes on about she was able to pass.

She sat down with her highway code and simply learnt it.
With regards the hazard perception she went for the more radical approach.
As soon as she saw a hazard she clicked - difficult concept I'm sure to people recommending 4 seconds then click, 5 seconds then click, random clicking etc.

If my mum can do it first time then all you "far better than the older drivers out there" people would have no excuse or hassle getting passed first time.

furnace · 26 Sep 2007 at 17:44

stoofa said:
If my mum can do it first time then all you "far better than the older drivers out there" people whould have no excuse or hassle getting passed first time.

Yeah, because passing your hazard perception definitely proves that you're a good driver...

Highway code was the way I learnt my theory too

I did buy a theory CD but got fed up with it, so read highway code about 3 times. Got 35/35 first time, 34/35 second time - got the stopping times wrong in that one (I didn't learn them)!