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Difficulty: Very hardDefensive Driving and Hazard Anticipation

You are traveling in the center lane of a three-lane urban corridor approaching a signalized intersection with a solid green traffic light. As you approach, a large delivery van in the left lane and a public transit bus in the right lane both slow down significantly and stop short of the intersection, blocking your view of the crosswalk and side streets. Which of the following is the safest defensive driving action to take?

  1. A
    Maintain your speed and proceed through the intersection since your lane has a solid green light and the right-of-way.
  2. Reduce speed, cover the brake pedal, and prepare to stop before entering the intersection to verify that no hidden pedestrians or emergency vehicles are crossing.Answer
  3. C
    Accelerate past the stopped vehicles quickly to clear the potential bottleneck before any hazards enter your lane.
  4. D
    Perform a sudden full stop immediately in the live traffic lane and sound your horn continuously to alert drivers behind you.

Answer

The safest defensive driving action is to reduce speed, cover the brake pedal, and prepare to stop before entering the intersection to scan for hidden hazards such as crossing pedestrians or emergency vehicles.
When vehicles in adjacent lanes stop unexpectedly at a green traffic signal, defensive drivers anticipate that those drivers are yielding to a hazard not yet visible—such as a pedestrian crossing or an emergency vehicle. Easing off the gas and covering the brake prepares the driver to stop safely if the hazard enters their path.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the environmental visual obstruction
Recognize that adjacent stopped vehicles (the delivery van and public transit bus) completely block visual scanning of the crosswalk and intersecting cross traffic.
When surrounding vehicles stop unexpectedly at a green signal, drivers must anticipate an unobserved hazard ahead.
2
Adjust vehicle control and speed proactively
Ease off the accelerator and place your foot lightly over the brake pedal (covering the brake) to eliminate reaction time lag.
Covering the brake significantly decreases total stopping distance if a hazard appears from behind the visual barriers.
3
Scan and evaluate before proceeding
Verify that no vulnerable road users or emergency vehicles are crossing through the obscured zones before accelerating.
Defensive driving requires confirming path safety rather than relying solely on signal right-of-way.

Key Concept

Hazard Anticipation at Obscured Intersections
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Topics

Defensive Driving and Hazard Anticipation

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