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    How can you make sure that a satellite navigation (satnav) system doesn’t distract you when you’re driving?

    DVSA-style practice question · Alertness

    The answer options

    • Choose a voice that you find calming
    • Set it before starting your journeyCorrect
    • Turn it off while you're driving in built-up areas
    • Only set the destination when you're lost

    Why that is the answer

    Programming a satnav while driving takes your eyes and mind off the road, which is dangerous and illegal. In line with DVSA guidance, you should set your destination before starting your journey so your full concentration remains on driving. Waiting until you are lost forces you to adjust the system while moving, causing severe distraction. Choosing a calming voice does not prevent physical or visual distractions, which can easily lead to a collision.

    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.

    Practise AlertnessSit a full mock test

    More alertness questions

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