Hazard Watch
Ride in the driver's seat and spot trouble before it happens. The earlier you tap, the more points — 10 kinds of developing hazard.
Seeing trouble early is a skill you can practice
New drivers look closer to the front of the car and later than experienced ones. They see the child in the street; an experienced driver saw the ball first. That gap is why so many crashes involving teens happen in ordinary traffic, not in rare emergencies. Hazard perception training works on it directly: you watch a drive, and you tap when you spot something developing that would make you slow down or change course.
Each Hazard Watch clip is a short drive where the car drives itself, carefully. One hazard develops: a ball rolls out between parked cars, a driver opens a door into your lane, a car noses out of a driveway, someone walks out in front of a stopped bus, the car ahead brakes hard, a cyclist swings out around a parked car, an oncoming driver pulls out to pass, a deer steps out of the trees, a person hurrying to the crosswalk doesn't stop, or an oncoming car turns left across your lane. After each clip you see what it was and the early clue that gave it away.
How the score works
Scoring follows the idea of the UK hazard perception test: 5 points for a tap in the first second after the hazard starts to develop, 4 in the second, down to 1 in the fifth. Too early scores nothing, and tapping over and over scores zero for that clip. In What Happens Next? the picture freezes as the hazard begins and you predict it. Hazard of the Day gives everyone the same five clips and counts toward your daily streak.
The rules behind the hazards — yielding to people on foot, three seconds of following distance, giving cyclists room — are on our rules of the road page. To drive them yourself, try the Road Rules roads in Road Sign Adventure.
Questions people ask
What is hazard perception?
Seeing trouble while it is still developing — a ball in the street, a car door about to open, brake lights far ahead — early enough to slow down calmly. Research on simulator and game-based training found that practice improves it, which is why the UK and Australia test it.
Is there a hazard perception test in the US?
Not as part of most state permit tests. We include it because it is the skill behind many crashes involving new drivers, not because your DMV will ask. Your state's handbook covers the related rules.
How is it scored?
Each clip has one developing hazard. Tap in the first second after it starts to develop for 5 points, down to 1 point in the fifth second. Tapping before it starts scores nothing, and tapping non-stop scores zero for the clip.
What is the What Happens Next mode?
The picture freezes just as a hazard begins, and you choose what happens next from three options. It trains you to predict, not just react.
Why does it need 3D?
The clips are drawn live with WebGL, so every drive is a little different. If your browser has hardware acceleration turned off, the game tells you how to turn it on; Signal Lab and Right of Way work without it.