Hazard scenes for bus and coach drivers
With passengers on board, a late reaction means people thrown down the aisle as well as a near miss outside. These scenes show the clue to spot and the calm decision to take.
Bus and coach hazards have a second layer: whatever you do outside is felt by the people inside. In each scene below, the best response is early enough to be gentle. A correct but harsh reaction still injures standing passengers.
Cyclist undertaking at a bus stop
You are indicating left to pull into a stop. A cyclist who was behind you rides up the inside, between the bus and the kerb. In a theory test image, look for the rider in the nearside mirror. Hold back, let them pass the stop, then pull in. Steering in “because you signalled first” squeezes them against the kerb.
Passenger running for the bus at night
After dark, a person runs out from behind a parked van towards your stop, across the road. You are running five minutes late and tempted to keep going.
Decision: slow down and stop; they may not look before crossing.
Wrong: accelerating away to keep to the timetable. It invites a dash across your path.
Lorry reversing across a narrow street
| Clue | Response |
|---|---|
| Reversing lights and a banksman on a dark street outside a supermarket | Stop well back and wait; the lorry driver may not see your bus behind them |
| Late on the timetable, a gap opens beside the lorry | Stay put until the manoeuvre is complete; squeezing past risks a swing into your side |
Roadworks outside a school
Temporary lights near a school at going-home time. Children walk in the road around the barriers, and a diversion sign points down a residential street. Slow to a crawl through the works, watch for children stepping out from behind the barriers, and check the diversion suits the height and length of your vehicle before following it.
Rural bend with standing passengers
On a country route, a sharp left bend has mud from a farm entrance and leaves on the surface. You have a dozen passengers standing after a school pick-up. Slow down before the bend, while upright and straight, so you need no braking in the curve. A sudden correction halfway round throws passengers sideways even if the bus holds the road.
Fire engine behind on a timetable run
Late at night, blue lights in the offside mirror on a two-lane road. Look ahead for a stop or a wide stretch where you can pull in. Do not stop on a bend or brow, and do not brake hard: passengers may be standing to get off. Signal, slow progressively and move left, then check the road is clear of a second vehicle before moving off again.
Car door at a busy stop
A car is parked just before your stop on a high street. In a still image, the clue is a head visible in the driver’s seat or a passenger leaning towards the door. Pass with room for a door to open, slow down, and do not cut back to the kerb so early that the rear of the bus swings past the opening door.
Dazzle from oncoming headlights
On an unlit road after dark, a car approaches on main beam and you lose sight of the verge where a bus stop is marked. Slow down and, if needed, stop. Look towards the nearside edge of the road rather than into the lights. The same applies to a low winter sun at the end of a long shift, when tiredness makes glare worse.
Pulling out from a stop near a school
Signal to leave the stop. A driver slows to let you out, but children are crossing in front of their car to reach the other pavement.
Wrong: accept the gap immediately.
Right: wait for the children to finish crossing and check the offside mirror for anyone overtaking the driver who stopped.
Queue braking on the way to a late connection
You are behind schedule on a dual carriageway, coach full, and traffic ahead brakes suddenly. Because you kept a long gap, you can brake progressively without passengers being thrown forward. Use the retarder, check the mirrors for traffic close behind, and accept the delay. Following closely to make up time is the mistake that turns this into an emergency stop.
Explain each scene back to yourself, then take a PCV mock test to check the related rules. The stopping and pulling-out technique behind several answers is in bus stops, manoeuvres and route hazards, and the PCV theory test format explains how hazard clips are scored.