Some of the best driving roads are littered with junctions. Reading signs will prepare you for them enabling you to drive quickly, ready to avoid or react to any hazardous situation, such as another vehicle pulling out.

A sign indicating a junction on the right allows you to move to the left, giving an earlier view into the junction and letting any waiting vehicle get an earlier sight of you. A sign indicating a junction on the left allows you to move out towards the centre of the road for the same reason. In either case you will have more time to react if something does happen.

For a crossroads where you have priority, simply position yourself for best view. Sit by the centre line if both junctions are obscured, or to the left or right, depending on which side you need to see 'into'.

If there is a vehicle in a junction make sure they have seen you, try and make eye contact with the driver. If you don't think they have seen you or they are looking the other way prepare to take action. This might just be a simple blast of the horn to get their attention.

If you want to avoid accidents, it's vital to pick up on signs that indicate junctions on corners, so you can modify your line and speed to suit. Often this means driving in the middle of your lane to give reasonable views into the junction and through the bend. You should also set your speed leaving enough room to brake or change direction should you need to.

Even if your view to a bend - junction is clear - you can see there's nothing there and nothing approaching you should still dial in some extra caution. Hold your entry point for the best view, but be aware that the road surface is likely to be of poor quality, more polished and more likely to be covered in mud or diesel than a bend without a junction.

Often there will be junctions that aren't signposted like farm tracks and minor roads. Be aware of the clues; mud stains on the road, a vehicle roof moving towards the road or stationary near the road. If there is any doubt you should treat it as a junction, move out for the best view and be ready to respond.

Everything written here is just as important in town, if not more as this is where most collisions happen. The earlier you can see into a junction and let other road users see you the bigger your safety margin.

Follow these procedures over enough miles and junction signs will become auto-response triggers. You see a sign and behave appropriately. In time, peripheral vision will suck in the information while the thinking brain is left to get on with assessing the hazard, line and speed. You already have auto-responses to 'Stop' and 'Give Way' signs or red traffic lights, so adding more can only be good thing.