Pedestrian Crossing, a Stopped Bus and a Wet Surface
You are driving in town at 50 km/h on a two-lane road with a marked pedestrian crossing ahead. A route bus has stopped in the right lane about 20 m before the crossing, with its hazard lights on, and passengers are stepping off onto the pavement side. Your lane, the left lane, is clear ahead as far as you can see, but the stopped bus blocks your view of the right-hand pavement and of the crossing itself. The road is wet after rain and your tyres are legal but about four years old. A car behind you is following at roughly one second's gap.
1. What must you anticipate, and how should you adjust speed and position?
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A bus stopped just before a crossing is a classic hidden-pedestrian situation. Passengers who have just got off may walk round the front of the bus to cross, and they will be invisible to you until they step into your lane.
Adjustments:
- Reduce speed now, while you still have room. At 50 km/h on a wet surface with older tyres, your stopping distance is well beyond the dry-road figure, so the speed at which you can stop within the distance you can see to be clear is lower than the posted limit.
- Move away from the bus where the lane allows, to widen the angle and give yourself a better view past it, but do not cross a solid line or move into oncoming traffic to do so.
- Cover the brake and be ready to stop at the crossing.
- Do not overtake the bus at speed. Passing a stopped bus at a crossing is one of the highest-risk moves on an urban road.
The governing principle is that you must be able to stop for a pedestrian you cannot yet see, because the bus has taken away your sight line.
2. The car behind is close. How does that change what you do, and what should you avoid?
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A one-second gap at 50 km/h is about 14 m - too close for the driver behind to stop if you brake firmly on a wet road. That does not entitle you to maintain speed past a hazard; it means you must manage the hazard earlier and more gently.
Do:
- Begin slowing early and progressively, so your brake lights warn the follower while there is still distance.
- Consider a brief, light touch of the brakes to show the lights before you actually need to slow hard.
- Leave yourself extra room ahead so you can stop without a violent deceleration.
Avoid:
- Braking late and hard at the crossing, which invites a rear-end collision.
- Swerving into the left lane to give the follower room - that puts you into oncoming traffic.
- Speeding up to "get past before" a pedestrian who may be about to appear.
If a pedestrian does step out, you must still stop; the follower's poor gap is his responsibility, but a smooth, early reduction in speed is what keeps you from being hit from behind while you do the right thing.