Examkin

Question

Difficulty: HardChildren

As you drive past a recreation ground, you notice an ice cream van parked at the kerb with several young children gathering around it. What is the safest and most effective way to manage the risks in this situation?

  1. A
    Sound your horn to alert the children of your vehicle and maintain your current driving speed.
  2. Slow down considerably, look for movement underneath and between parked vehicles, and be ready to stop at short notice.Answer
  3. C
    Focus your gaze exclusively on the serving hatch of the van to see when the children receive their items.
  4. D
    Accelerate smoothly past the stationary van to clear the immediate hazard area before any child steps into the carriageway.

Answer

Slow down considerably, look for movement underneath and between parked vehicles, and be ready to stop at short notice.
Children near ice cream vans, school gates, and play parks are particularly vulnerable because excitement and distraction impair their attention to road traffic. The safe course of action according to the Highway Code is to significantly reduce speed, scan actively beneath vehicles to spot early signs of pedestrian presence, and maintain preparedness to stop immediately.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the vulnerable road users and environmental obstructions.
Recognised that children near an ice cream van are highly excited, easily distracted, and frequently masked by the vehicle bodywork.
Children often lack mature hazard awareness and may dash across the carriageway without checking for traffic.
2
Implement proactive defensive driving and scanning techniques.
Reduced vehicle speed, covered the brake pedal, and scanned low under chassis lines and between parked vehicles for feet or shadows.
Looking low through wheels and underneath vehicles reveals approaching pedestrians before their upper bodies emerge from behind blind spots.

Key Concept

Child pedestrian hazard anticipation and defensive speed adjustment near high-risk stationary vehicles.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
Rate this question

Topics

Children

More questions from this topic