Open, Closed and Changing Conditions

The handbook sorts every road situation into three conditions. Naming the one you are in tells you how much room you have and how much you can see.

• Open conditions: a clear, broad view of the road and surroundings with nothing blocking it. Adjusting speed and changing lanes is easy. An open highway in daylight with light traffic.
• Closed conditions: limited space and a restricted view, blocked by trees, buildings or other vehicles. A narrow street in a trading centre with parked vehicles, stalls and people on both sides, or a queue of lorries on a climb.
• Changing conditions: something is about to change: the speed limit, the road surface, the lane width, the visibility (weather, time of day) or the flow of traffic. The handbook notes these can be unpredictable or need specific action. Tarmac ending in murram, a dual carriageway narrowing to single, dusk arriving.

The practical use is the adjustment each one asks for:

• In open conditions you have room, so use it to look far ahead and keep a generous envelope.
• In closed conditions your view is short and your space is small, so slow down until your stopping distance fits the little you can see, and watch the gaps between things, where people and bodabodas appear.
• In changing conditions, the warning is the hazard. Adjust before the change arrives, not after it has caught you.

A road can pass through all three in a minute. The skill is noticing each change as it happens.