Assessing the road

What is road assessment?

Three questions you can answer at a glance and which together define how to drive the next stretch: course, surface and verges.

This is not a theoretical exercise: it is what an experienced driver does automatically every few seconds.

The course

• Bends and their radius: tight or open? does it tighten? → apply the phases of the bend.
• Crests and dips: behind them there may be a stationary vehicle or an obstacle.
• Visibility: how far can you actually see? That distance sets your sensible maximum speed.

The surface

Type of surface: asphalt, concrete, cobbles or an unmade track – each grips differently, especially in the wet.

Condition: potholes, ruts, gravel, leaves, site mud. Changes in colour and texture announce changes in grip.

The verges

• Hard verges: walls, rock, trees, crash barriers – no room to swerve, keep more lateral clearance.
• Soft verges: grass, unmade shoulder – drifting off unsettles the vehicle.
• «Populated» verges: parked vehicles, driveways, hedges, bus stops – this is where the unseen emerges from.

From assessment to decision

The three answers together give you your plan for the stretch:

• Speed: as high as the weakest of the three factors allows.
• Position: further from risky verges, well to the right in blind bends.
• Readiness: cover the brake wherever the surface or the verges suggest it.

The road forces you to do nothing – but it warns you about everything, if you look at it.