Night Rain, a Cyclist and a Bus Pulling Out on Clear Water Bay Road
You are driving a loaded 3.5-tonne LGV on Clear Water Bay Road at 22:30 in steady rain. The road is a two-lane single carriageway with a 50 km/h limit, a series of bends and no street lighting for 600 m. Ahead, a double-decker bus has stopped at a lay-by with its hazard lights on; its tail lights are bright. The bus's right indicator begins to flicker. A cyclist in dark clothing, with a small rear red light, is riding 1.5 m from the left kerb at about 15 km/h. Your load is 900 kg of bottled water, and the rear tyres are near the legal minimum tread depth. An oncoming car has main beams on, causing glare. You are 35 m behind the cyclist and closing at 50 km/h.
1. Identify the hazards in priority order and describe your speed and position plan for the next few hundred metres.
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The priority hazards are the cyclist, the bus and the oncoming glare, in that order, because they can all cause a sudden stop or a swerve into the opposite lane. Reduce speed now to about 30-35 km/h, use dipped headlights, and increase the gap to at least four seconds; 35 m at 50 km/h is only about 2.5 seconds and the wet road and worn rear tyres lengthen stopping distance. Do not use main beam into the glare or at the cyclist. Watch the bus's right indicator: if it pulls out, it will block your lane and may force you towards the cyclist. Be ready to stop rather than overtake. Keep left but not so close that you squeeze the cyclist.
2. Would you overtake the cyclist here, and what conditions and clearance would you require?
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Overtake only on a clear straight section, with no oncoming vehicle and no bus movement, and give the cyclist at least 1.5 m clearance, more if you are travelling faster than 30 km/h. Mirror, signal, mirror, blind spot, then move out smoothly; do not sound the horn as a demand to move over, because a horn is a warning device, and a sudden horn can make a cyclist wobble. If the oncoming car's glare prevents you from seeing the road ahead, wait. On these bends, the safe decision is usually to stay behind until the road opens up.
3. The bus begins to pull out and the cyclist wobbles. What do you do?
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If the bus pulls out, brake progressively and keep the steering straight; do not swerve right into the oncoming car or left into the cyclist. If the cyclist wobbles, reduce speed and prepare to stop. Use the hazard lights only if you are stopping as a warning to the traffic behind. The aim is to create time and space, not to hold your speed and force a gap that is not there.