New Zealand Car Driving Driving in Hazardous Conditions Questions and Answers

Question 1

You are driving on a motorway during a heavy downpour and your car begins to hydroplane, losing contact with the road surface. What is the most appropriate immediate action to take?

Accepted Answer

Ease your foot off the accelerator and steer gently where you want to go.

Answer

When hydroplaning, sudden actions like hard braking or sharp steering can cause a complete loss of control. The correct procedure is to ease off the accelerator to allow the car to slow down naturally and for the tyres to regain contact with the road, while making only small, gentle steering corrections.

Question 2

The standard two-second following distance is recommended for good conditions. According to the NZ Road Code, what is the MINIMUM following distance you should use when driving in heavy rain or on a frosty morning?

Accepted Answer

It should be increased to at least a four-second rule.

Answer

In hazardous conditions like rain or frost, stopping distances are significantly longer. The NZTA Road Code explicitly recommends doubling the following distance from two seconds to at least four seconds to provide a safe buffer for reacting and braking.

Question 3

You are driving on a cold, clear winter morning. Which of the following locations is most likely to have hazardous black ice?

Accepted Answer

The surface of a bridge or an overpass.

Answer

Black ice is a thin, transparent layer of ice that forms on road surfaces. Bridges and overpasses are particularly prone to black ice because cold air circulates both above and below the road surface, causing it to freeze faster and stay frozen longer than the ground-level road.

Question 4

When driving in dense fog during the daytime, which lights should you use to ensure you can be seen by other drivers without reducing your own vision?

Accepted Answer

Headlights on dipped (low) beam.

Answer

In foggy conditions, high-beam headlights will reflect off the water droplets in the air, creating glare and severely reducing your visibility. Dipped (low) beam headlights are aimed downwards, illuminating the road ahead and making you visible to others without causing this reflection.

Question 5

You are driving at sunrise and are suddenly affected by severe sunstrike, making it almost impossible to see the road ahead. What is the safest course of action?

Accepted Answer

Signal, pull over to a safe position on the left, and stop until your vision improves.

Answer

If you are blinded by sunstrike and cannot see the road, continuing to drive is extremely dangerous. The safest action is to slow down, signal, and pull over to a safe place to stop until your vision clears or you can use your sun visor and sunglasses to mitigate the glare.

New Zealand Car Driving Test Practice Test

New Zealand Car Driving Test Practice Test

New Zealand Car Driving Driving in Hazardous Conditions Questions and Answers