Examiners assess something they call anticipation and planning, and candidates often treat it as vague. It is not. It is a concrete skill: predicting what other road users are about to do, early enough that your response looks smooth rather than reactive.
Two candidates can arrive at the same hazard and both handle it safely. The one who saw it coming ten seconds earlier brakes gently, positions well and flows through. The one who saw it at the last moment brakes hard and swerves. Same outcome, very different marking. Here is how to become the first driver.
Why Anticipation Is Marked at All
Reactive driving is safe only while everything goes to plan. The moment two hazards overlap — a car pulling out while a cyclist is on your left — a driver operating on late reactions runs out of options. That is why the examiner is watching not just what you do, but how early you started doing it.
The good news is that anticipation is largely observation plus pattern knowledge. Both are learnable.
The Signals Other Drivers Actually Give
Indicators (trust, but verify)
An indicator is a statement of intent, not a guarantee. Never turn or emerge purely because another driver is indicating — wait for the vehicle to actually slow and begin to turn. Acting on a signal that turns out to be a leftover from the last junction is a classic serious fault.
Road position
Position tells you more than indicators do. A car easing towards the centre line is probably turning right, even before it signals. A vehicle drifting left with no side road ahead is likely to stop. A car hugging the right of its lane on the approach to a roundabout has already told you which exit it wants.
Speed change
A vehicle slowing without an obvious reason has seen something you have not — or is about to turn, park or stop. Either way, back off and widen your view.
Wheel angle
The front wheels of a waiting car at a side junction point where the driver intends to go. Wheels turned towards you means a right turn across your path. This is one of the highest-value observations in urban driving and almost nobody uses it consistently.
The driver’s head
If you can see a driver checking their mirror and then looking over their shoulder, they are about to change lane or pull out. If a parked driver is sitting upright with hands on the wheel, they are about to move off. If nobody is visible in a parked car, the risk is a door opening from the pavement side instead.
Reading Specific Road Users
Buses
A bus at a stop with its indicator on is going to pull out, and in the UK you must give way where it is safe to do so. Anticipate it: ease off early rather than accelerating to pass and then braking. Also watch for pedestrians crossing in front of and behind a stationary bus.
Cyclists
A cyclist who glances over their shoulder is about to move out — usually to avoid a drain, a pothole, a parked car or a left-turn lane they do not want. Give them room before they need it, and never squeeze past on the approach to a junction.
Motorcyclists
Filtering riders appear in mirrors quickly and can be hidden entirely in a blind spot. In slow traffic, check both mirrors before any lateral movement.
Large vehicles
Lorries and buses need to swing wide to turn, sometimes moving left before turning right. Do not fill the gap that opens up beside them. If you cannot see the driver’s mirrors, they cannot see you.
Pedestrians
Direction of gaze and pace of walk tell you almost everything. Someone walking briskly towards a kerb without looking at traffic is going to step out. Children, people carrying heavy bags and anyone on a phone should all lower your speed automatically.
Taxis and delivery vans
Both stop suddenly and in inconvenient places as a matter of routine. Hazard lights on a van ahead means expect a door to open into the road.
Practise Real Test Routes on Your Phone
The Exam Routes App gives you access to real driving test routes with turn-by-turn navigation. Practise at your own pace and build confidence before test day.
Turning Anticipation Into Marks on the DL25
Anticipation shows up in the examiner’s marking indirectly, through the quality of everything else. Specifically:
- Smooth speed control. Early observation means gentle deceleration instead of late braking.
- Good planning at junctions. You arrive in the right gear at the right speed because you read the queue 100 metres back.
- Correct positioning. You move away from a hazard before it becomes one.
- Appropriate progress. You commit to gaps confidently because you saw them developing rather than discovering them.
Conversely, poor anticipation produces the fault patterns examiners record most often: harsh braking, undue hesitation, late lane changes and reacting to a hazard rather than planning for it.
How to Train This Before Your Test
- Commentary driving. Say what you see and what you expect it to do: “Bus at the stop, indicator on, I will hold back.” Ten minutes a lesson is enough to change how you look at the road.
- The ten-second rule. Practise identifying the next hazard you will meet ten seconds before you reach it. If you keep being surprised, you are looking too close to the bonnet.
- Passenger practice. When someone else is driving, predict out loud what each vehicle will do. This costs nothing and works.
- Drive varied roads. Patterns are location-specific. Town traffic behaves differently from rural traffic.
- Review your near-misses. After any moment that felt sudden, ask what the earliest clue was and when you could have seen it.
How the Exam Routes App Can Help
Anticipation improves fastest when you already know the road layout, because your attention is free to watch traffic instead of hunting for the next sign. The Exam Routes App gives you real driving test routes with turn-by-turn navigation, so you can drive your test centre’s roads in advance and spend the time watching how traffic actually behaves at those junctions.
Knowing that a particular roundabout backs up at 08:30, or that a bus stop sits just past a blind bend, is exactly the kind of local reading that turns a competent drive into a confident one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does anticipation and planning mean on a driving test?
It is the examiner’s assessment of whether you identify hazards early and respond smoothly, rather than reacting late. It affects how your speed control, positioning and progress are marked.
Should I rely on another driver’s indicator?
No. Treat an indicator as an intention, not a promise. Wait until the vehicle actually slows and starts to turn before you commit.
How can I tell if a parked car is about to move off?
Look for exhaust fumes, brake lights, front wheels turned outwards, a driver in the seat, or reverse lights. Any of these should make you widen your position and cover the brake.
Do I have to give way to a bus pulling out?
The Highway Code says you should give way to buses signalling to move off from a stop when it is safe to do so. Anticipating it early is what makes it safe and smooth.
Does commentary driving really help?
Yes. Speaking your observations aloud forces you to look further ahead and makes gaps in your scanning obvious. Most instructors use it because it works quickly.
See It Before It Happens
Practise the real routes at your test centre with turn-by-turn navigation, and spend test day reading traffic instead of reading signs.
