Safe Driving Practices
Safe Driving Practices tests how you handle a bus's size, weight, and blind spots. Maryland focuses on following distance, tail swing, railroad crossings, drawbridges, and speed control in weather and at night.
Core rules
A bus is longer, heavier, higher, and wider than a car. It needs more room to stop and turn. Use at least one second of following distance per 10 feet of vehicle length below 40 mph, and add one second above 40 mph. For a 40-foot bus, that is 4 seconds under 40 mph and 5 seconds over 40. Swing wide before a turn and watch tail swing in the mirrors; the rear can strike a curb, sign, or pedestrian. Passenger buses must stop at railroad crossings unless the crossing is protected by a gate or flagman; look and listen, and never stop on the tracks. Stop before drawbridges that are open or whose signal is not working. Use headlights, reduce speed in rain, snow, fog, and crosswinds, and avoid standing water.
Worked example
You drive a 40-foot bus at 45 mph on a wet road. The minimum following distance is 5 seconds (4 seconds for length plus 1 for speed over 40). At 45 mph, 5 seconds is about 330 feet. Wet pavement lengthens stopping distance, so add more space.
Traps
Using car following distance; cutting a turn before the rear clears; ignoring tail swing; rolling through a railroad crossing; speeding on ramps or curves because the bus feels stable.