Skip to main content
road sense

road sense

4.1
Knowing how to notice and avoid danger on the road
  • noun
  • /roʊd sɛns/
translation icon : sentido vial
  • Teaching children road sense is crucial to ensure their safety when crossing streets.

Examples

  • After years of driving, she developed strong road sense, allowing her to navigate safely through busy traffic.

  • But roads were very different in 1961, and I had driven Dad's car around the orchard from the age of 15 and already had a full motorbike license, so I had gained a little road sense.

    Blog text (22)
  • What had happened was that the original reindeer had become used to the road and developed a certain amount of road sense.

    Blog text (2)
  • His lack of road sense became evident when he failed to notice the pedestrian crossing ahead.

Synonyms

good sense
vsroad sense
53 3.6

The ability to make sensible decisions in everyday life

focuses on judging traffic and avoiding hazards while travelling
cautiousness
vsroad sense
1 4.2

Careful action to avoid danger or problems

focuses on judging traffic and avoiding hazards while travelling
carefulness
vsroad sense
1 2.1

Paying close attention to avoid mistakes or harm

focuses on judging traffic and avoiding hazards while travelling

Antonyms

16 2.8

Lack of attention that causes mistakes or accidents

Surface Forms

road sense singular
road senses plural

Morphology

road + sense

The meaning 'ability to judge and avoid danger on the road' is directly derivable from combining 'road' (the domain) with 'sense' (practical judgment); a learner who knows both words can plausibly infer the phrase refers to practical awareness specific to roads. The noun+sense compositional pattern (X sense = practical judgement about X) is common and cross-linguistically recurrent, so this is immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Road sense comes from a simple picture: a careful person seems to have a good sense about what will happen on the road, spotting other vehicles and dangers early. That's why road sense means 'the ability to judge and avoid danger on the road'.