The answer options
- Ask your friend if their driving was affected by the medicine
- Consult the label to see if the medicine will affect your drivingCorrect
- Drink a coffee before you drive
- Drive a short distance to see if your driving is affected
Why the other options are wrong
- “Ask your friend if their driving was affected by the medicine” is a distractor. It does not meet the standard the question is testing, which consult the label to see if the medicine will affect your driving does. Picking it in the real test costs a mark you cannot get back, and with a pass mark of 43 out of 50 you only have seven to spare.
- “Drink a coffee before you drive” is a distractor. It does not meet the standard the question is testing, which consult the label to see if the medicine will affect your driving does. Picking it in the real test costs a mark you cannot get back, and with a pass mark of 43 out of 50 you only have seven to spare.
- “Drive a short distance to see if your driving is affected” is a distractor. It does not meet the standard the question is testing, which consult the label to see if the medicine will affect your driving does. Picking it in the real test costs a mark you cannot get back, and with a pass mark of 43 out of 50 you only have seven to spare.
Why that is the answer
Before driving, you must always check the medicine label or package leaflet to see if it causes side effects such as drowsiness or slow reaction times. Different people react to medication in different ways, so asking a friend is not a reliable safety check. Coffee will not counteract the effects of drowsy medicine, and driving to test yourself puts you and other road users in unnecessary danger.
What hazard awareness covers
- · Static, moving and developing hazards and how they differ
- · Scanning, mirror use and planning your response early
- · Effects of tiredness, alcohol, drugs and prescription medicine
- · Weather, light and road-surface conditions that reduce your margin
Mistakes learners repeat on this topic
- · Choosing the reactive answer (brake hard) over the planning answer (ease off early)
- · Underestimating how long alcohol stays in the system overnight
- · Assuming a prescribed medicine cannot affect your fitness to drive
- · Treating a hazard as cleared before you have passed it
Instructor tip: If two answers both work, pick the one that acts earliest — the DVSA marks anticipation, not recovery.
How this comes up in the real test
Questions from hazard awareness appear throughout the 50-question multiple-choice section, and the wording changes between versions. Learn the rule rather than the sentence: the DVSA can ask the same point from the opposite direction, and a memorised answer falls over the moment the phrasing moves.
The pass mark is 43 out of 50, so seven wrong answers is your entire margin. If a whole category is shaky, run the topic practice below until you are getting every question right for the right reason, then go back to full mocks under the clock.
More hazard awareness questions
- A motorcyclist has just overtaken you. What should you do if the motorcyclist sharply cuts in front of you?
- A police officer is making this signal to oncoming traffic. What does this mean?
- Before taking any medicine you should always check the leaflet. Why is this?
- Certain two-way streets have three lanes on them. Why do they pose a special risk?
- Do you need to plan rest stops when you’re planning a long journey?
- How can drinking alcohol affect your ability to drive?