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Driving Test Success Hazard Perception (2005 Edition) (PC)
RRP: £9.99
Our Price: £4.75 (subject to change)
If you pass with this, you will pass the real thing.
Review date: 2007-03-14 Rating: 8 out of 10
Compared to the actual test, this vidvd is presented in lower resolution, on a smaller screen and is shot through the windscreen of a car from the driver's position. Wipers, rain and dazzling sunshine contribute to the difficulty - and realism - of the clips. The actual DSA Test clips are shot from a roof-mounted camera and I don't recall any in bad weather.
This vid can be analysed to show where in the clip you clicked, relative to the scoring points as the hazard appears and develops. This is a really crucial aspect of this trainer because click method is a bit of a lottery, both on this and the real thing. My advice is to give three clicks in rapid succession [over 2 secs, say] on first seeing a hazard, then pause before clicking again because clicking at a steady rate will get you pinged for 'unacceptable clicking'. I lost all ten marks in the actual test double-hazard clip for this reason. As there were sheep all over the road through most of the clip, seeing the hazard was not the problem, clicking rate was. Bear in mind also - and I didn't get this point until I actually bothered to read the blurb - that very experienced drivers [I got my car licence in 1976 two weeks after I turned 17] may well anticipate a hazard developing before the score-points on the clip actually start. If you find you have not scored a 5 when you KNOW you saw the hazard nice and early, check the marking analysis. You may well find your first click falls just before the start of the 5-point period and your next lands on the 3-point score. This happened to me repeatedly. It's not a boast: it's just that it is acknowledged that experienced drivers develop an almost sixth sense about situations on the road. The blurb recognises this point.
This is why I [and the vid] advise experienced drivers to open the scoring with a short burst, to make sure you hit the 5 mark. Having said that, it's very important to remember not to click too many times and/or rythmically. See above. This is why I say that click technique is a bit of a lottery in this vid and the real test.
This vid is not a game and neither is the test. Complaints by users, particularly about resolution, are disingenuous. There will be times out on the real road when visiblity is far worse than the worst in any of the clips in this vid. Hazard perception and anticipation IS the difference between life and death - and that death could be yours.
I did all the test clips on this vid as soon as it arrived. Then I put it aside for a couple of weeks before my actual test. I ran through the whole lot again on the morning of my test. This got me well set for the business of what you have to do in the test. Despite losing all 10 points in the double hazard clip, I did pass the PCV test. This vid was largely responsible for that. I recommend it highly.
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Reviews
Doesn't do what it says on the tin
Review date: 2006-06-03 Rating: 2 out of 10
I am surprised that the review gives it a 5 out of 5 rating and it shows "The UK No.1" on the back of the case.
The DVD is similar to the test in layout, but that is about as close as it gets. The responses and scoring appears to be different. I answered my test questions the exact same way I did on the DVD and my first answer was scored at zero for clicking too many times (which I think was only about 9 clicks)
Personally I think I would be better off just turning up for the test and following the on screen tutorial. After using this software I am now more confused than ever when to click and definately would not recommend to any who is taking there test.
I passed the tests on the DVD 4 or 5 times in a row with scores well over the required mark of 44, but achieved a low 28 on the official test. I find it strange that software that was meant to prepare me the test would prepare me so poorly. I never even came close to scoring 28 when I used this DVD.
My recommendation is not to bother with this software as it makes you un-sure when you should click. It actually took me some time to work out how to use it at first. Just turn up for the test and watch the tutorial carefully - you have a better chance at passing.
Don't get me wrong the Harzard Part of the test is not easy so you will need to concentrate hard. It's meant to simulate the real world, but in now way does. I have been driving for 13 years and haven't been envolved in any accidents, but according to this test I am not a safe driver. If everyone drives like the Hazard Test the road would be full of neurotic and probably cause more accidents breaking for no apparent reason.
There is also no way to review your answers or figure out where you went wrong so you just have to go back and try again and hope for the best.
To be fair to Amazon I did not but the software from them, but I wish I read a few of these reviews before I did as that way I wouldn't have bought it.
Are you feeling lucky?
Review date: 2006-04-21 Rating: 4 out of 10
I would like to take a moment to give a few personal details before reviewing the product. Here goes...
This software was sent to me as part of a training package when I booked my HGV training course. I already hold a full clean licence for both motorcycles and cars, and passed both tests on the first attempt. My motorcycle test was taken years prior to the theory test coming into force and I was exempt from taking the theory test before taking my car driving test due to already holding a full motorcycle licence. I have worked as a DSA Approved Motorcycle Instructor and also as a Van Delivery Driver so as you can probably appreciate, my experience is quite considerable.
O.K. time for the review...
In principle this is a well thought out piece of software which has the potential to be very helpful, with advice on how to ascertain what actually presents a hazard to the road user and how to differentiate between different levels of hazard i.e. Progressive Hazards (those which will/can get worse, such as cyclists which present a hazard in the first place and becomes a greater hazard when they pull out around a parked car) Static Hazards (those which exist but cannot get worse such as a flooded lane in the road).
All this would be helpful to a new driver who has no sense of hazard perception, however, this is primarily intended as a training tool to enable a person to pass the hazard perception part of the theory test, unfortunately I fail to see how it can do anything other than make people feel very nervous indeed. You see, all the training video clips which are designed to be as close to that of the actual test as possible are of a really poor quality. For my view of the road ahead to be as unclear as that of the video clips I would have to drive without my spectacles on - in fact I think I would still have a better view of the road.
There is a section on the CD-Rom which allows you to freeze-frame the clips precisely at the point where the hazard 'first comes into view', I have put that in inverted commas because in many cases the 'hazard' still could not be seen even with the image frozen, and this was when I knew what the hazard was going to be and where it was supposed to be!
Examples of this are:- Sheep in the road, these were hiding round a bend in the road and didn't come into recognisable view until I could only score 2 out of 5 for spotting them. In order to score a 5 I would have to have used psychic powers... or buy some xray specs.
Cyclist at night, I scored 3 out of 5 for this one. When freeze-framed at the start of the 'scoring zone' he was completely invisible. When it was stopped at 4 only his back light was visible and was indistinguishable from the cats-eyes on the road. Only at 3 was it possible to recognise that there was a cyclist in the road.
Just in case anyone reading this thinks that it is perhaps my PC monitor that is at fault - I tried it on two different computers, one of which was a laptop with a crystal clear screen that displays DVD images better than my TV. The picture quality for this software was terrible on both.
My advise is this - If you have never driven any type of motorised vehicle and want to learn about the different types of hazards that you will come across when driving, then this may help. If, like me, you have driving experience but are upgrading to driving wagons/ buses/coaches e.t.c. then don't bother buying it. In either case it still represents a useless training tool.
Not the best aid.....
Review date: 2006-03-13 Rating: 6 out of 10
I have used this CD-ROM to help me pass my theory, a few drawbacks though:
1. Some clips are repeated which is useless for a learner as this will not happen in real life or on the test.
2. Some clips are of poor quality so you cannot see cylists etc until too late.
3. Adequate view of the road ahead isn't given.
Although it states on the cover that they cannot use official DSA clips and the clips will be different to the tests, I feel they didn't quite get it right.
However I do prefer do practically go through a practise test rather than watch clips on a TV and do nothing. This CD-ROM does show you your score clearly and tries to break each piece down which is good. Check out the official DVD or the sample that comes when you book your test to see more of what the test clips will be like.
Do you really need it?
Review date: 2006-01-17 Rating: 4 out of 10
The feeling you get with a pass certificate under your arm as you stride out of the test centre is very satisfying. I’m afraid to report that I did not attribute much of this satisfaction to this software. I brought this product to make sure I pass the theory test, not to make me a better driver. In any case, hazard perception is a skill that cannot be acquired from a few hours in front of a computer. Whilst using the software I slowly realised that the publishers had used a lot of guesswork, giving the work an air of being unprofessional. Regrettably contradicting a previous reviewer, there is a text within the programme that explains that the DSA were not consulted. It also says the marking system for practice sessions is probably the way the tests are marked in reality, but not really - which didn’t help my confidence.
Some might argue that there is little point in paying for a product that will only bear fruits for ten minutes whilst sitting at the PC in the test centre. On the other hand, the psychological point of view suggests that people are more confident if they think they have had practice.
Scenarios on this software are not staged, but in the test itself they clearly are. This means the product lacks a certain amount realism of the test (despite the irony of having more real-life scenarios.)
The product does, on the upside, have a lot of helpful clips, which demonstrate hazard perception, and the way you need to be constantly alert.
Overall, it’s a good guide but not essential, a product for those who (like me) buy revision guides for exams they have all the notes for, just to be sure. See a potential hazard, click. See a developing hazard, click – that’s all there is to it! You only get penalised for over-the-top manic clicking.
Product Details/Specifications
Recording label: Focus Multimedia Ltd
Manufacturer: Focus Multimedia Ltd
EAN: 5031366015952
Binding: Video Game
Release date: 2005-07-29
Manfacturer maximum age: 216
Manfacturer minimum age: 80 months
Platform: Windows XP
Brand: Focus Multimedia Ltd