The unmarked T-junction: cyclist from the right, bus on the left
You are driving north on a narrow two-lane county road in a 60 km/h zone. Your road ends at a T-junction with a larger road running east–west. There is no stop sign, no yield sign, no priority-road sign and no road markings at the junction, and a barn and a hedge limit your view to the right to about 60 metres. You want to turn left. On the larger road, 25 metres to your left, a bus is standing at a marked bus stop with its left indicator flashing. A cyclist is coming from your right at roughly 25 km/h. Behind you, a car has closed up to about 10 metres. It is dry and daylight, and the larger road has an 80 km/h limit. Your passenger says: «Just go - a bus leaving a stop has to give way to us, doesn't it?» You have held a class B licence for eleven months.
1. Who must give way at this junction, and why? Cover the cyclist, the bus and the car behind you.
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Nobody has priority here - the right-hand rule (høyreregel) applies, because no sign or marking gives either road priority.
- The cyclist is a vehicle and approaches from your right, so you must give way to him. He covers the 60 m you can see in under 9 seconds at 25 km/h, which means you may only drive out if you can stop within the distance you can see to be clear.
- The bus is on your left. The rule that a bus signalling out of a stop has priority applies only in built-up areas, and a 60 km/h zone is by definition outside a built-up area. So the bus must give way to you under the right-hand rule. Do not count on it: a bus pulling out is long, slow and often already committed.
- The car behind does not change your duty to give way, but 10 m at 60 km/h is about 0.6 seconds of gap. If you stop abruptly for the cyclist, that driver will run into you. Brake early and gently so the brake lights give him time.
The passenger's claim is the classic trap: it is a real rule, but it carries a geographic condition that is not met here.
2. The bus driver flashes his headlights and waves you out. How do you proceed?
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You treat the wave as information, not as permission. The responsibility for the manoeuvre stays with you, and the bus driver cannot see what you can see - nor can he waive the cyclist's right of way.
Work through it in this order:
- Re-check the right: is the cyclist still coming, and at what speed? A wave from the left tells you nothing about him.
- Check what the wave might actually mean. It could be intended for the cyclist, or the driver may simply be acknowledging that he has seen you while he waits.
- Check your own blind spots and the lane you intend to enter, including any vehicle overtaking the bus.
- Move only when your own observation says the way is clear, and move decisively - hesitating halfway out is how cars get hit.
There is also a courtesy point: if the bus is genuinely ready to leave and you are stationary anyway, letting it go first costs you a few seconds and removes a large vehicle from your blind spot.
3. Describe how you actually carry out the left turn, step by step, including what you check and when.
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Approach: mirror, indicate left early, reduce speed so you can stop at the line of the junction, and position normally - a left turn at a T-junction does not require you to swing wide.
At the junction:
- Look right first, because that is where the threat with priority is; then left; then right again. Last look goes to the direction you are about to move into.
- Give way to the cyclist, then judge the gap to any traffic from the right on the 80 km/h road. At 80 km/h a car covers 22 m per second, so a gap that looks generous at 60 can close fast.
- Check the bus once more before you commit; its indicator may be on while it is still boarding.
- Check your right wing mirror and blind spot for the cyclist if he is passing you on your left side, or for anyone overtaking the queue.
The turn itself: enter the westbound lane without cutting the corner, accelerate smoothly, and cancel the indicator. Once you are on the larger road your speed must adapt to 80 km/h traffic approaching from behind - do not sit at 45 km/h in the lane.