The answer options
- Select a higher gear
- Flash your headlights
- Sound your horn
- Use your mirrorsCorrect
Why that is the answer
Always check your mirrors before changing your speed or direction, following the standard MSM routine advised in The Highway Code. Checking your mirrors before slowing down or stopping allows you to see what is happening behind you, such as a vehicle following too closely. You can then adjust your braking safely to avoid a rear-end collision. Flashing your lights or sounding your horn is unnecessary and could easily mislead other road users.
How this comes up in the real test
Questions from alertness 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 alertness questions
- Before making a U-turn, what should you do?
- How can you make sure that a satellite navigation (satnav) system doesn’t distract you when you’re driving?
- How should you pass the cyclists?
- Something is hanging from your rearview mirror. Why might this pose a risk?
- The windscreen pillar is restricting your view when waiting to emerge from a junction. What should you be especially cautious of?
- There is a hazard ahead. Why should you use your mirrors?