How not to do it

Employing zero anticipation and no imagination the driver of the  blue car followed the bus too closely. As a result they ended up stopped directly behind and locked into a position where they can receive only a limited amount of information about the situation ahead!

The driver is also so close to the bus that to steer out from behind will be very difficult.

The exasperated driver of the black car (being followed by others) is now attempting to go around both the blue car and the bus. This is potentially dangerous because the overtaking distance has been extended by the blue car and the driver of the blue car may make a desperate (embarrassed?) attempt to move out, without checking the mirrors and blind spot!

How to do it

The driver of the blue car kept well back from the bus and absorbing all the clues as they drove down the road. Even before the bus driver started to indicate to stop the driver in the car probably knew what was about to happen and was planning the next move.

(If the car driver was really on the ball he/she would have even noticed the length of any queue at the bus stop and the amount of people standing up inside the bus waiting to disembark. This would help them calculate the likely time before the bus would be setting off again!)

After checking the interior and offside mirrors the driver moved out to a position that not only allowed a good view up and down the road, and kept the car out of the way of approaching vehicles, but also positioned the car far enough back from the bus to allow an easy and relaxed move out if the opportunity arises.

The driver should then deal with the situation in the following way:

1) If it is NOT safe to go, the car driver should wait here, out of the way, looking for opportunities to overtake but also checking out what is happening inside the bus and looking for other clues - like the bus driver checking his/her door mirror before signalling to move off. Before the car driver follows the bus he/she should check that ex-bus passengers are not walking out into the road or potential passengers are not running across the road from the right to catch the bus.

2) If it IS safe to overtake, the car driver should give another check of the offside door mirror and then indicate to the bus driver - and following drivers - that they are about to overtake. (Also see point above about people running in from the right!)

The car driver being very aware of the danger of ex-passengers walking around the end of the bus (see ! in diagram) and out into the road, should keep the speed down until this danger is out of the way

The car driver should also keep a very close eye on the direction indicators of the bus and be prepared to hold back. Some bus drivers will just indicate and move off - no matter what the situation is. They will sometimes move off even if drivers are signalling to overtake them or in the process of overtaking them!

Once they have overtaken the bus the driver should check the mirrors and cancel the indicator, before moving back over to the left.

Although we have concentrated on buses think about other vehicles that may stop on a regular basis, such as recycling lorries. They may turn into a road and stop just around the corner or even half way around the corner. Also, look for clues such as recycling bins placed outside properties. If you can see these the lorry may be just around the next bend.

If you are following a large vehicle which is travelling slower than you might expect figure out what sort of cargo it's carrying. For example, if it's a lorry full of building materials it may be searching for a delivery address and may stop suddenly when they find it.

For example, if the lorry has TESCO written all over it and there is a TESCO shop in the vicinity then the lorry may soon be stopping to double park in front of you to deliver goods. Or, it may swing rapidly to the right, stop half-way across the centre of the road before reversing swiftly back across the road (in front of you) to enter a loading area! Anticipate these events. If you end up stopped in the lorry-driver's blind-spots you may have a collision!

Following Large Vehicles at Faster Speeds

Coming soon.