This is the term we use to describe the fusion of what you observe and an anticipated pattern of events.  You ‘fuse’ what you see with you decide what you might reasonably expect to happen.  Observation links invoke the acronym O U R = Observe - Understand - React.

Just a few examples of observation links are listed below although there are of course many more;

·         Post boxes. Someone will need to cross the road to post a letter today. Look for them.

·         Telephone kiosks. As above.

·         A child looking across the road. It is likely that a friend is on the other side. Be prepared for the child to run into the road.

·         A mother pushing an empty pushchair/pram. Look out for the child.

·         A vehicle is waiting to pull out at a road junction or crossroads. Get eye contact - you must be ready to react. If the road is clear in your opposite direction they may pull out in front of you!

·         A parked vehicle. The driver's door will open at least twice a day!

·         A loose dog.

·         A dog on a lead. If it is a retractable lead will the dog run into the road?

·         Horse droppings in the road. Expect a horse and rider round the next bend.

·         A horse showing the whites of its eyes is frightened and inexperienced.

·         A horse with its rear end pointing out into the road is preparing its defences!

·         A horse trailer with only one horse will be more unstable on either left or right hand bends.

·         Bin bags beside the road mean it is collection day. Look out for the bin men.

·         Hay or straw wisps on verges could mean the haywain is round the corner.

·         A speed camera ahead will mean that the average driver will brake ‘unexpectedly' in front of you.

·         Condensation or water coming from an exhaust pipe means the vehicle has just started. It is probably going to take a while for the driver to ‘accustom' them self to their new environment so perhaps you should look for an early opportunity to overtake.

·         Foreign number plate on a lorry. This will probably be a left hand drive vehicle so the driver will not be able to see you as you overtake. If you can, move out and look for the driver in his mirror. Consider a headlight or horn warning. I you cannot see the driver he cannot see you.

·         Bus stops. You may encounter a bus ahead. Be aware that it will stop in front of you at some point.

·         Traffic queuing on motorway bridges means that the top of the ‘on-slip' will probably be traffic light controlled so watch for a stream of traffic joining the motorways after these bridges. If possible look for this occurrence whilst driving on motorways and be prepared.

·         Caravans usually have under inflated tyres! On a long journey they could overheat and burst!

·         You can see one BT van. These usually operate in twos so look out for the second van round the bend.GKB 2013