Several previous articles has been posted on this Gorski Consulting website discussing driver visibility obstructions on school buses. Those are noted below.
School Bus Fatal Impact of Pedestrian in Toronto – Another Visibility Issue? Posted: November 8, 2024.
Left-Turning School Bus Causes Pedestrian Fatality in St Thomas Ontario. Posted: February 15, 2024.
School Bus Visibility Obstruction Could Kill You. Posted: February 17, 2023.
Roof Pillars Can Be A visibility Obstruction. Posted: July 19, 2007.
The reason for posting these articles is because few pedestrians, cyclists, or other vulnerable micro-mobility riders understand the danger that exists when they cross in front of a school bus. The left-front of a typical school bus contains several objects that make it difficult for a bus driver to see past them. While it is the responsibility of the school bus driver to recognize these dangers it is also helpful if those persons close to the school understand what the driver has to cope with.
In the image above we have shown the driver’s view from a typical, 20-seater, school bus. This bus would be the smallest of the many one might see in southern Ontario. However similar difficulties exist for school buses of all sizes. The view being shown is at a typical unban intersection where the school bus has come to a stop and pedestrians begin crossing in front of the bus from left to right. There is a pedestrian visible crossing just to the left the convex mirror. This convex mirror is anchored to the left front of the bus, as shown in the example photo of a bus exterior below.
Note that the pedestrian is not walking within the lines of the pedestrian crossing and there is no other pedestrian visible. The next photo shows the scenario just a few seconds later as a second pedestrian emerges into view.
Note that the second pedestrian was there all along but his presence was blocked from view. And this is a very typical problem. It exhibits itself many times when school buses are making left turns and the bus drivers do not detect that a pedestrian is walking within the pedestrian crossing to the left of the bus. Regrettably several pedestrians have been killed in southern Ontario in recent years in this type of scenario.
What needs to be changed is the way we hide the causes of collisions such that pedestrians do not become aware of a safety problem and it recurs for no logical reason. Fatal collisions involving left-turning school buses are often reported in very general turns without educating any one about the specific dangers.
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