8.2 Large Vehicles, School/Transit Buses, and Emergency Vehicles

Large vehicles behave differently from cars. They are heavier, wider, slower to stop, and surrounded by blind spots big enough to hide a motorcycle completely. Learn to Ride Smart Chapter 7 spends the most space on this category because the consequences of a mistake beside a truck or bus are severe.

The no-zone blind spots

Every heavy truck and bus has four blind spots — the front, rear, and both sides — collectively called the no-zone. If you cannot see the driver's face in the truck's mirrors, the driver almost certainly cannot see you.

The 12-second rule beside a truck

Use See-Think-Do: scan 12 seconds ahead, and if a large vehicle is in that picture, decide early whether you will pass or fall back. Never ride alongside a truck for any longer than it takes to get past it.

Wide turns behaviour

Large vehicles need extra room to turn. Two patterns catch riders off guard:

• Right turn swing wide left — a truck turning right may first swing left to open the corner, dragging the rear wheels across the right side (off-track). Never pass a large vehicle on the right when it may be about to turn right.
• Left turn from the right lane — a bus or truck in the right lane signalling left will need to swing right first. Stay back and watch the signals, not just the vehicle's position.

Wind and air turbulence

When a large vehicle passes you at highway speed, you feel a push of cushioned air as it arrives beside you, a moment of relative calm while it is alongside, and then a tug of wind turbulence as it pulls past. To handle it:

• Grip the handlebars firmly but not rigidly.
• Keep a steady throttle and a straight line.
• Move to the right lane position when you see a large vehicle approaching, and wait about three seconds after it has passed before returning to your usual lane position. That is ICBC's specific instruction for turbulence.
• Anticipate the same effect when you pass a truck — the push comes as you enter its side no-zone and the tug comes as you clear the front.

Passing and being passed

School buses

BC school buses use a two-stage light system that every rider must recognise:

• Flashing yellow (amber) lights — the bus is about to stop. Slow down and be ready to stop; do not accelerate past.
• Flashing red lights and extended stop arm — the bus is stopped and children are boarding or leaving. On an undivided road, all traffic in both directions must stop. On a road with a physical median, only traffic behind the bus in the same direction must stop.

Children can cross in front of the bus. Wait until the lights stop flashing and the arm retracts before moving — and even then, scan under and around the bus for a child who has dropped something and gone back.

Transit buses

Transit buses pull in and out of bus stops constantly. Expect:

• You must yield to a public transit bus that is signalling and displaying a yield-to-bus sign to pull out from a curb lane or bus stop. The rule applies on every road where the speed limit is 60 km/h or lower. If there is space, change lanes to let the bus out; if you cannot change lanes, slow down and prepare to stop.
• A stopped bus can hide a pedestrian who steps out from the front of the bus; never pass a bus at speed on the right.
• Mirror checks and shoulder checks before any lane change are critical when buses share your corridor.

Emergency vehicles

When you hear a siren or see flashing lights — police, fire, or ambulance — the rule is simple: pull right and stop.

1. Signal — use your turn signal so the emergency vehicle's driver can see you have noticed them and are pulling over.
2. Move to the right edge of the road and stop. Pull to the left instead if you are riding in the left lane of a divided highway or on a one-way street.
3. Do not stop in an intersection. If you are already in one, clear it first and then pull over.
4. Stay stopped until the emergency vehicle has passed — and watch for a second one following.
5. Shoulder check again before re-entering traffic; another driver may have pulled out ahead of you.

One extra rule riders forget: when you are riding behind a fire truck you must stay back at least 150 metres.

Stopped vehicles with flashing lights — slow down and move over

This is a separate rule from the one for moving emergency vehicles, and it is heavily tested. It applies to any stopped vehicle displaying flashing yellow, red, white, or blue lights — fire, police, commercial vehicle inspectors, conservation officers, paramedics, tow trucks, highway maintenance and utility crews, land surveyors, animal control, and garbage collectors.

If you are in the lane nearest the stopped vehicle, you must also change lanes if it is safe to do so. The one exception is a divided highway when you are approaching from the opposite direction. Failing to slow down or move over can bring a violation ticket and penalty points.