Safe Driving on the Road
Domain 3 tests road judgment specific to a long, heavy, high vehicle: following distance, speed control on grades, wide turns, and the mandatory stops at railroad crossings and drawbridges.
Following distance and speed
Use one second per 10 feet of vehicle length below 40 mph, and add one second above 40 mph. A 40-foot bus therefore needs 4 seconds around town and 5 seconds on the highway, plus at least 1 second in rain and more in fog or snow. Speed is the posted limit adjusted for load, weather, and your stopping distance - never the limit because everyone else runs it.
Grades and turns
Select a lower gear at the top of a downgrade and use engine braking with snubbed brake applications; continuous light braking overheats drums and causes fade. Right turns: swing wide without crossing into oncoming traffic, check the right mirror for tail swing, and confirm the rear wheels clear the curb. Left turns go left lane to left lane.
Crossings, drawbridges, tunnels, clearance
A bus carrying passengers must stop at railroad crossings - 15 to 50 feet from the nearest rail - open a door or window, listen, and cross only when there is room to clear the tracks completely. Exempt crossings or an officer or flagman directing traffic are the exceptions. Stop before a drawbridge and confirm the span is closed and locked. In tunnels: headlights on, no passing, no stopping, sunglasses off. Know your height and read clearance signs; if a sign is doubtful, stop and look.
Worked example
At 55 mph you time 3 seconds to the overpass the car ahead passed. For a 40-foot bus you need 5 seconds, so you ease off until the gap reaches 5 seconds - the arithmetic, not a feeling, sets the gap.
Traps
Forgetting the extra second above 40 mph; treating a green signal as permission to skip the crossing stop; ignoring tail swing at a tight right turn.