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Defensive Driving
Defensive driving means assuming other people will make mistakes. Keep your distance, check your mirrors, read the traffic ten seconds ahead. If you get surprised, you were already driving too aggressively.
Lesson8 min
Basic Traffic Rules
Responsibility, consideration and adaptation
You will learn, among other things:
Responsibility in Traffic
You are responsible for not causing danger, even when someone else breaks a rule. If a car runs a stop sign while you have priority, you brake anyway. Swedish traffic law calls this care and consideration. In practice it means giving up your right of way when that prevents a crash.
What Care and Consideration Means
Care and consideration is mostly about unprotected road users. A child at a crossing may run out without looking. A wobbling cyclist isn't ready for a tight pass. Slow down before you reach them. Leave at least 1.5 metres when overtaking a cyclist. Never assume other people have seen you.
The Adaptation Principle
The sign shows the maximum legal speed, not the speed you must keep. Adapt to the road surface, visibility and traffic. On ice, in fog or in heavy traffic you must drive below the posted limit. Driving the sign exactly on a slippery road isn't safe — it actually breaks the adaptation rule.
Rule
Seat Belts and Responsibility
The driver is responsible for ensuring everyone under 15 is properly restrained. Children under 135 cm must use an approved child seat or booster. If a 10-year-old in the back seat is unbelted, the fine goes to you, not the child. Adult passengers are responsible for themselves, but you must still tell them to belt up.
Rule
Mobile Phone Use and Attention
Holding a mobile phone while driving is illegal. You may not text, read or scroll, not even stopped in a queue. Hands-free is legal but cuts your attention in half — keep calls short. If you need to answer something important, pull over somewhere safe first.
Example
Example: Autumn Morning on a Country Road
It's 7 °C, wet leaves on the tarmac, the sign reads 80. The car ahead starts pumping the brake in a bend. What do you do? Slow to 60 even though the limit is 80. Stretch your following distance to three seconds. Look further ahead — you can't see the bend's exit. That driver has already felt the slip; figure out why they're braking.
Exam trap
Exam Trap
The exam often shows a photo with a 90 sign and thick fog. The question: are you allowed to drive 90? Many people say yes. The correct answer is no — the adaptation rule in Trafikförordningen overrides the posted limit. The sign is a ceiling; the law requires you to drive below it when conditions demand.
Scenario
Decision Chain: Heavy Rain, Dense Traffic
You're driving 70 in dense traffic. Heavy rain starts. Two cars ahead the driver brakes hard. Think in three steps: 1) Create margin — lift off the throttle and lengthen your gap before you're forced to brake. 2) Brake gently — hard braking in rain raises the risk of being rear-ended. 3) Mirror — check the car behind has time to react.
Checklist