Seeing
What the exam tests
Visual search, mirror use, and recognition of school-bus blind spots.
Core rules
- Aim high: look 12–15 seconds ahead, not at the hood.
- Scan the whole scene: road, shoulders, signs, parked cars, pedestrians, and mirrors.
- School buses have danger zones: immediately in front of the bumper, directly behind, and along both sides. A child in these zones may be invisible to the driver.
- Use the crossover mirror to check the area in front of the bus at every stop.
- Check mirrors every 5–8 seconds and before any lane change, turn, or stop.
- Adjust mirrors before you move; a different driver may have left them set for a different seat position.
- At stops, watch students until they are clear of the bus and safely off the road.
Worked example
You stop to unload students on the right side. Before opening the door, you check the crossover mirror and see a child crouched near the front bumper. You wait and sound the horn briefly. Reasoning: the crossover mirror is designed to show that front danger zone; without it, the child would be invisible from the driver's seat.
Traps that cost marks
Watching only the vehicle ahead; skipping mirror checks because the road is empty; assuming a child who left the bus is clear; not resetting mirrors after another driver used the bus.