Hazard perception test FAQs

Hazard perception is the ability to recognise threats and react to safely avoid hazards.

This may be judging when you can safely make a right turn or slowing down to when a pedestrian is crossing on the road ahead of you.

The hazard perception test (HPT) is a new assessment within Tasmania’s licensing pathway. It is an online test that can be completed on a computer, phone, or tablet.

The HPT ensures new drivers are prepared to use hazard perception skills when they drive solo.

Tasmania has moved to an “enhanced” model Graduated Licensing System (GLS) under the Australian GLS policy framework, which was endorsed by Commonwealth, State, and Territory Transport Ministers in 2014.

Including the HPT between the learner and P1 licence stages is a key recommendation under this framework.

Non-novice and certain overseas and interstate learner licence conversions have also been included in the HPT requirements to ensure a consistent and safe licensing system for all new or returning drivers.

The HPT is free and if you fail, you can attempt it again straight away.

Anyone who is required to undertake a practical driving assessment before being issued with a Tasmanian driver licence will be required to pass the HPT before booking their practical driving assessment.

L2 licence holders are excluded from this requirement under the Graduated Licensing System transitional arrangements.

Anyone with an active driving assessment booking made before 7 March 2022 is also exempt.

The following licence holders will need to pass the HPT before they can book a driving assessment unless otherwise exempt:

• L1 licence holders
• novice learners
• non-novice learners
• interstate learners transferring to a Tasmanian licence who do not have proof of passing an HPT in the state of their previous licence in the last 12 months
• overseas licence holders from non-recognised countries converting to a Tasmanian licence
• overseas licence holders under the age of 25 from experienced driver countries converting to a Tasmanian licence.

For more information on non-recognised and experienced driver countries see converting an overseas licence.

The Registrar of Motor Vehicles may request certain individuals outside of these rules to pass the HPT in certain circumstances.

The following licence holders do not have to complete the HPT:

• L1, novice, non-novice learners and interstate and overseas licence transfers with a practical driving assessment booking made before 7 March 2022.
• L2 licence holders
• people transferring to a Tasmanian licence who can provide evidence that they have completed the HPT in another Australian jurisdiction within the last 12 months
• people sitting the following practical driving assessments:
  • licence condition removal e.g., removing automatic only
  • occupational therapy driving assessments.

Anyone who already holds a provisional or full licence is not required to complete the HPT.

There is currently no HPT requirement in either the motorcycle or heavy vehicle GLS.

The Registrar of Motor Vehicles may request certain individuals outside of these rules to pass the HPT in certain circumstances.

If you have an active booking for a practical driving assessment before 7 March 2022 you will be exempt from needing to complete the test regardless of your licence type.

An active booking is one that is currently within our booking system. This means if you have cancelled a booking or have previously booked a practical driving assessment and do not rebook before 7 March 2022 you are not counted as having an active booking. You will not be exempt from the HPT without an active booking before 7 March 2022.

No.

If you fail an assessment before 7 March and would otherwise meet the requirements to sit the HPT outlined above, you will still need to rebook your assessment before the HPT launch to meet exemption criteria.

If you fail an assessment on or after 7 March, you will not have to pass the HPT if you:

• have already passed it
• are otherwise not required to sit the test as outlined in the rules mentioned above.

.

No, as long as the initial confirmation was before 7 March 2022 your booking does not become inactive, and you will still be exempt.

You will still need to rebook your assessment before the HPT launch to meet exemption criteria

If you have a novice learner or L1 licence you can sit the HPT any time from 3 months before your earliest test date onwards.

If you are a non-novice learner or converting an affected overseas licence, you can sit the HPT straight after you pass the driver knowledge test (see ‘who needs to complete the HPT’ above for details on specific overseas licence conversions).

The test must be passed before booking a practical assessment if you have the HPT requirement.

Your earliest test date will be on your learner licence card. It is 12 months (continuous with no suspensions) from the date your learner licence is issued.

The HPT can be completed anywhere you have internet access.

If you do not have private internet access through home internet or mobile data, you can sit the test at any other location you can access the internet including:

• libraries
• community online access centres
• Service Tasmania public access computers
  • these are different from the terminals used for the driver knowledge test
• schools (outside of regular classroom teaching)

You will need your learner licence number and date of birth. If you do not currently have a learner licence you can use your client ID. Service Tasmania can provide a printout of your client ID if required.

The HPT can be completed on mobile, tablet, or computer.

However, to get the best experience we recommend you:

• use a desktop computer with a computer mouse. Before you start the HPT, check that the mouse clicks correctly. ensure you’re in a quiet place so you can focus.
• ensure that your computer’s browser is up to date. You’ll need the latest version of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Edge

If you have a Novice Learner licence, please ensure you are accessing the HPT from 3 months before your earliest test date onwards. Th earliest test date is on your licence card.

If you receive the following message: “An error occurred attempting to verify your details. Please try again or contact Service Tasmania”, there may be an issue with your login details. Please make sure you have entered these correctly and contact Service Tasmania or State Growth.

You will see a message that you are not eligible to sit the HPT if you are a full licence holder. Full licence holders are not required to sit the HPT under the normal business rules. If you have been specifically requested to pass the HPT by The Registrar of Motor Vehicles and see this message, please contact State Growth.

The HPT is not set up on specific computers at Service Tasmania like the driver knowledge test.

However, some Service Tasmania shops have public access computers you can use to sit the test if you do not have access to internet or a device you can use.

You do not need to get login details from Service Tasmania staff to access the test.

No, the HPT will still play in portrait mode. However, you may find it is harder to see hazards when attempting the HPT this way.

A computer-based HPT allows for a safe and reliable environment to assess hazard perception before being exposed to a practical testing environment during their practical driving assessment.

Other advantages of using a computer-based test to assess hazard perception skills include:

• ease of use and accessibility
• consistent and objective assessment for all applicants
• flexibility to expose applicants to a wide range of environments such as night-time and daytime, rain, and scenarios with metropolitan, rural, and commercial settings.

Practical driving assessments have included a section focused specifically on hazard identification. Other sections of the P1 and other practical driving assessments use hazard perception in activities such as giving way on roundabouts, making right turns and highway merging.

Research has found hazard perception is a factor in more than 40% of crashes involving young drivers and that new drivers have less ability to perceive hazards in complex driving situations.

The HPT has been introduced to ensure hazard perception receives adequate focus to address these issues and ensure young and new drivers are prepared to drive safely unsupervised.

The extra focus on hazard perception also adds encouragement for learner drivers to practise and improve these skills on the road during supervised driving.

A short video clip of a driving situation is shown.

You must click the “take action” button when you think it is safe to take action or need to avoid a hazard. If no action can be taken safely, the video should be left to play out.

There are only four different actions. Only one will feature in each situation. These are:

• overtake
• move off
• turn right
• slow down.

25 clips are shown in the HPT, and all must be attempted (with an action or no action) to complete it.

Click to enhance image

This exemption will only apply if you have completed your HPT within the previous 12 months. If you already have a physical or digital record available from the relevant licensing authority you can provide this. Service Tasmania staff are not required to check you have passed a HPT while verifying your other interstate licence details.

Please ensure any evidence provided clearly states you have passed the HPT and is dated. A booking confirmation is not enough.

The evidence should be provided to Service Tasmania in person. It is recommended you bring this with you when first transferring your licence.

13 correct out of 25 will result in a pass.  You need to complete all 25 scenarios before your score is calculated.

You need to respond to all situations (including taking no action when required) to complete the HPT.

You do not need to provide proof of passing as your result will be automatically recorded on your client file.

You will be able to book a practical driving assessment.

Please note only novice P1 practical driving assessments can be booked online. You can book other assessments by visiting a Service Tasmania shop.

Your result is valid for 12 months. If you do not pass your practical driving assessment within this time, you will need to pass the HPT again.

No, you do not need your hours to be completed before sitting the HPT. Evidence of logged hours (if applicable) must be provided before you can attempt a practical driving assessment.

Non-novice learners are learners who:

• have returned to the licensing system,
• have held an Australian full licence previously, and
• their full licence has been inactive for five years or longer.

Non-novice learners must complete:

• the driver knowledge test
• the HPT, and
• a practical driving assessment.

They have the same restrictions as novice learners but do not need to:

• record supervised driving hours in a logbook (they still must have a supervisory driver when driving)
• wait a specific length of time before being able to sit their HPT or practical driving assessment (as long as the HPT is completed before booking the practical driving assessment).

Yes, a practice test is available. This is only accessible to those who can access the HPT, there is no separate practice test available that is not linked to the HPT.

The practice test is optional, but it is highly recommended you complete it before your first attempt at the HPT to familiarise yourself with how the test works and see how it will perform on your device.

Hazard perception can also be practised and improved during learner driving sessions with a supervisory driver.

You can reattempt the HPT straight away. There is no lockout period or limit on the number of times you can reattempt the HPT.

No, you are unable to see the individual questions you answered incorrectly.

However, you can use the feedback or coaching statements at the end of the test to work out the type questions you had the most difficulty with.

The coaching statements are designed to give some general tips for improving your hazard perception skills based on the questions you answered incorrectly. They are tied to each question so “Keeping a safe distance behind a braking or slowing vehicle” would show you have been slow to react to one or more of these situations during the test.

Coaching statements are shown even if you pass the test to ensure you are still aware of areas you can improve on as you continue to gain driving experience

You will have 45 minutes to complete the HPT, but most people only need twenty minutes to complete it.

You should allow an extra five to ten minutes time to go through the instructions and complete the practice questions.

This exemption will only apply if you have completed your HPT within the previous 12 months. If you already have a physical or digital record available from the relevant licensing authority you can provide this. Service Tasmania staff are not required to check you have passed a HPT while verifying your other interstate licence details.

Please ensure any evidence provided clearly states you have passed the HPT and is dated. A booking confirmation is not enough.

The evidence should be provided to Service Tasmania in person. It is recommended you bring this with you when first transferring your licence.

Hazards are a risk area for drivers. The HPT is an additional step in the licensing system, but it will help make drivers safer.

The HPT is online and free of charge, making it easy and convenient. As a novice learner, you will have three months before your earliest P1 practical driving assessment date to complete the HPT. The HPT can also be reattempted straight after a failed attempt with no limit on the total attempts.

The questions were developed by the University of Adelaide’s Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR) in conjunction with Austroads. CASR analysed crash data to determine the types of situations and hazards that lead to fatal and serious injuries involving novice car drivers to inform the questions used within the HPT.

HPT questions may not require you to understanding of the text to know what needs to be done. In most cases the situation and action required are clear from the video.

If you have difficulty understanding a question someone else may assist and explain what is written in the situation text.

They cannot tell you when, or if, you should take action.

The HPT includes environmental traffic sounds. The sound does not help to answer questions.

There is no option to have the questions read out to the user.

You will be able to re-join the test where you left off as long as you still have time remaining in the 45-minute maximum time.

Please try the following actions (in any order) and see if they fix your issue:

• refresh your page
• try a different device
• try a different browser
• clear your cache
• try using a private browsing session.

If you are still having issues, please contact graduated.licensing.system@stategrowth.tas.gov.au and mention the steps above that you have tried and a screenshot of your issue if you have one.

If you manage to fix the issue within the 45-minute test time you should be able to re-join the test where you left off.

Otherwise, you will need to restart the test. However, there is no cost, lockout period or limit on total attempts.

The test is expected to use up to 90MB in total. The average data usage may be below this.