SERU safer driving questions: free practice

What the safer driving chapter covers

Section 7, “Safer Driving”, covers the Highway Code, speed, phones, drink and drugs, seat belts, vulnerable road users, cyclists, windscreens, fatigue and vehicle checks. Most London collisions come from a few easy-to-avoid behaviours, such as driving too fast for the conditions and being distracted.

Five rules to know

• Know and obey the Highway Code, and drive at a speed that suits the road and the weather (p.31).
• If you need to make or answer a call, stop safely, park and turn the engine off. Using a hand-held phone while driving is illegal (p.31).
• Never drive under the influence of drink or drugs. Check with your doctor that prescription medicine is safe to drive on (p.32).
• The driver is responsible for children under 14 wearing seat belts or using an approved child seat (p.32).
• Look out for cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists, including in queues, and ask passengers to check before opening a door (Section 7).

Five sample questions

These are original practice questions written from the public PHV Driver’s Handbook. They are not real SERU questions. Pick an answer before you read the answers section below.

1. Which of these is named in the handbook as a common cause of collisions in London?

• A. Driving with the window open.
• B. Using the horn too often.
• C. Carrying luggage in the boot.
• D. Driving too fast for the conditions.

2. You are driving and your phone rings. It is your operator. What does the handbook say you must do?

• A. Stop safely, park, and turn the engine off before you answer.
• B. Answer on loudspeaker while you keep driving.
• C. Answer quickly if you are in slow traffic.
• D. Hold the phone in one hand, if the road is quiet.

3. You have a 2-year-old child passenger. The correct child car seat is not available. Where can the child travel, according to the handbook?

• A. On the front seat with an adult seat belt.
• B. On a rear seat with an adult seat belt.
• C. In the front seat on the parent's lap.
• D. On a rear seat without a seat belt.

4. You turn left into a side road. A pedestrian is already crossing the road you want to enter. What should you do?

• A. Sound your horn so the pedestrian moves faster.
• B. Drive on slowly, because you were first to arrive.
• C. Wait only if the pedestrian is a child.
• D. Give way and let the pedestrian cross.

5. You stop at the kerb and your passenger is about to open the door into the road. What should you ask them to do?

• A. Check first for cyclists coming, and do the same yourself.
• B. Wait until the traffic lights change.
• C. Open the door fully so the cyclists see it.
• D. Open the door only a few centimetres.

Answers

1. D. Most London collisions come from a few easy-to-avoid behaviours: speeding or driving too fast for conditions, dangerous manoeuvres, distraction and breaking the rules of the road. (Obey the law, p.31)
2. A. If you need to make or answer a call, stop safely, park your vehicle and switch off the engine. (Concentration, p.31)
3. D. If the correct child seat is not available, a child can travel only on a rear seat. (Following traffic laws before a journey, p.32)
4. D. When you turn into a side road, pedestrians crossing it have priority, so give way to them. (Being aware of other road users, p.33)
5. A. Ask passengers to check for cyclists before opening a door into the road, and you must do the same. (Being aware of other road users, p.33)

Practise the safer driving chapter

These five questions come from our free sample. Section 7 has 15 free questions and more with a pass. See also: SERU study guide.

• Practise this chapter
• Free SERU Mock 1: 37 questions, 45 minutes, with scores
• Passes for the full question bank

Sources

• TfL: PHV Driver's Handbook (PDF)
• TfL: SERU for private hire drivers