CDL School Bus Basics and Danger Zones Practice Test

Adjust the left and right flat mirrors so that you can see where the rear tires meet the ground and about 200 feet (roughly four bus lengths) to the rear. If a mirror shows only one of these, it is not set correctly.

A Type D bus is built on a stripped chassis and resembles a transit bus, with the driver and the entrance door ahead of the front wheels and the engine either beside the driver or in the rear. Type A and Type C buses have their entrance door behind the front wheels.

NHTSA's federal guideline on pupil transportation safety specifies National School Bus Glossy Yellow as the paint for school buses. This color was chosen because it is highly visible and makes a school bus easy to recognize.

A child can be struck anywhere around a school bus, so the danger zones reach out from the front bumper, along both sides and behind the rear bumper. The areas right in front of and behind the bus are especially risky because the driver's view there is most limited.

Reversing greatly increases the chance of a collision, so a school bus should be backed only when there is no other safe way to move it. If backing cannot be avoided, post a lookout, check the mirrors constantly, and back slowly.

Window posts and mirrors can block part of the driver's view and hide a pedestrian or another vehicle. Rocking your body forward, backward, and side to side lets you look past these obstructions before you move or turn.

A bus driver's first duty is to protect the people on board. Being on time and keeping riders comfortable matter, but they always come second to safety.

Mounted above the windshield, the overhead inside mirror lets the driver keep an eye on passenger activity in the seating area. It does not cover the blind spot right behind the driver's seat, and the space beside the bus is checked with the outside mirrors.

The outstanding safety record of school buses comes mainly from two sources: vehicles designed with features that protect children, and trained, attentive drivers at the wheel. Police patrols and road quality are not the main reasons.

A school bus has a long overhang behind its rear wheels, so in a sharp turn the back end can sweep outward roughly 3 feet toward the side opposite the turn. Check your mirrors before and during the turn so the tail swing does not strike anything.

Set every mirror before you pull away so that together they cover the danger zones surrounding the bus. A mirror cannot be adjusted properly once the bus is rolling, and trying would take your attention off the road.

Properly aimed, each outside convex mirror shows the full side of the bus as far as its mounting bracket, at least one lane of traffic on that side, and the front of the rear tire where it meets the road. Convex glass also makes objects look smaller and farther away than they actually are.

Because the driver's view behind a school bus is limited, reversing greatly increases the chance of striking a person or object. Back up only when there is no other safe way to move the bus, and never while students are outside it.

Danger zones exist on every side of a school bus, but the left side carries a constant extra risk because other drivers may pass the bus there. Students use the door on the right side, and the bus's mirrors do cover the left side.

This mirror sits above the windshield so you can keep track of passenger behavior and movement inside the bus. It offers at most a limited view out the back, so it is not the tool for checking traffic or the blind area behind the bus.

Mounted above the windshield on the driver's side, the overhead inside mirror lets the driver watch passenger behavior. Traffic beside the bus is checked with the outside flat and convex mirrors, and the area directly in front of the bus with the crossover mirrors.

School buses are built for safety, with bright yellow paint, flashing red lights, stop arms, extra mirrors, padded seat backs that absorb crash energy and bodies that resist crushing. Their drivers are also screened and given thorough safety training, so the people at the wheel and the vehicles together explain the record.

Properly aimed flat side mirrors show the driver the road for a distance of 200 feet behind the bus, which is about four bus lengths. This lets the driver keep track of traffic and of the area behind the bus when stopping and starting.

Depending on the size and design of the bus, the danger zone in front of it may reach as far as 30 feet, and the first 10 feet nearest the bumper are the most dangerous. Along each side and behind the bus, the zone usually extends about 10 feet.

Mirrors are how a driver sees into the danger zones that surround a school bus, where a student, a passing car, or an object can be hidden from direct view. A mirror that is set wrong leaves a gap in which a child could go unseen.

Drivers are strongly advised against reversing a school bus: the driver can't see much of the space behind the bus, so the chance of a crash goes up. Never do it while any students are outside the bus, since they could be hit.

The area a school bus driver cannot see behind the bus begins at the rear bumper and, on a large bus, can stretch as far back as 400 feet. A blind spot that size can easily hide a child or a car, so the mirrors must be adjusted with care.

Many parents have more contact with the bus driver than with anyone else at the school, so the driver often shapes how they see the school. Treat parents with courtesy and listen to their concerns.

The danger zone can reach 30 feet ahead of the front bumper and about 10 feet out from each side and from the rear. Cars may pass the bus on its left, which is why that side is always treated as especially dangerous.

Crossover mirrors, mounted at the front corners of the bus, let the driver see the area directly in front that is hidden from the seat, along with the front portions of both sides. The flat and convex side mirrors are used mainly to watch the sides of the bus and the area toward the rear.