The Right-Turn Squeeze at a Crowded Corner
It is 3:20 p.m. on a clear day. You are turning right from a two-lane street onto a busier four-lane road. Your bus is 40 feet long with a rear overhang. At the corner, a group of middle-school students is standing on the sidewalk near the curb, some with bicycles, and one is leaning into the gutter. A delivery van is stopped in the right lane just past the corner, partially blocking your turn path. You have the green light but no protected arrow. Your right-side convex mirror shows the curb line and the students; your flat right mirror shows the rear of the bus.
1. Describe how you set up and execute this turn, including mirror use and the specific hazard you are managing.
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The controlling hazard is off-tracking and the rear swing/squeeze zone where the students are standing.
Setup:
- Swing wide left before the turn (without crossing the centerline into oncoming traffic) so the rear wheels track inside the curb line rather than over it.
- Check both right mirrors repeatedly: flat mirror for the bus body and rear, convex mirror for the curb, the gutter, and the students.
- Because the van blocks the right lane past the corner, do not commit until you know your swept path clears it. A 40-foot bus with rear overhang needs the full lane plus margin.
Execution:
- Proceed slowly and steadily; do not accelerate through the turn - speed widens the swept path and shortens your reaction time.
- Watch the convex mirror for the moment the rear of the bus passes closest to the curb; that is when a student who steps off the curb is most at risk.
- If the van forces you to choose between the curb and the van, stop and wait. Never thread the gap.
Key principle: the rear of the bus cuts the corner. Your mirrors exist to let you see that cut before it becomes a collision.
2. A student steps off the curb into the gutter as your rear wheels approach. What is your immediate response and why?
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Stop immediately and hold the brake. Do not swerve - swerving a 40-foot bus toward the van or oncoming lanes converts one hazard into a worse one, and it can throw standing passengers.
Why stop rather than continue:
- At low turn speed the bus can stop in a very short distance, so stopping is the lowest-risk action available.
- The student's position is now inside your rear sweep zone; continuing means the rear overhang may strike them even though the front of the bus has already cleared.
- A stopped bus is predictable to the student and to following traffic.
After stopping: sound the horn if the student does not appear to see you, wait until they are clearly back on the sidewalk, re-check both right mirrors, and only then complete the turn. Report the near-miss to your supervisor so the stop location can be reviewed.
3. What would you change about your approach if the light turned yellow mid-turn?
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Once you have committed to the intersection and begun the turn, you finish it - stopping in the middle of a turn with the rear of the bus still sweeping toward a curb full of students is far more dangerous than clearing the intersection.
The decision point is before you enter: if the light is yellow and you have not yet committed, stop. If you have already entered and are mid-turn, complete the turn at low, controlled speed while continuing to watch the convex mirror.
What you must not do is accelerate to "beat" the change. Speed increases the rear off-track and reduces your margin to the curb. The judgment being tested is separating commitment (already in the intersection) from approach (still able to stop safely).