To mark the seventh annual Bus Safety Week, Transport for NSW is reminding all road users to be ‘bus aware’. Points to remember:
- Buses are heavy vehicles that can’t stop as quickly as some other vehicles on the road.
- When a bus and car travelling at 80km/h apply brakes simultaneously, it takes a bus about 30 metres further than a car to come to a complete stop.
- Crashes involving buses often result in more severe outcomes for other road users due to the size and mass of buses.
In the five years to 2020, 37 people died, and 352 were seriously injured in crashes involving buses. In 2021, three people were killed in crashes involving a bus.
From 2016 to 2020, rear-end collisions accounted for nearly one-third of casualties from bus crashes in country NSW. Meanwhile, in metropolitan areas, more than 50 per cent of fatalities and serious injuries from bus crashes occurred at intersections.
If you are driving or riding, give way to merging buses. Be aware that buses have larger blind spots than some other vehicles – don’t assume the driver can see you.
Remember to slow down to 40km/h when school bus lights flash and keep an eye out for children. They are still developing their road sense.
If you are walking to a bus stop, plan ahead, and don’t rush for the bus. After alighting, always wait until the bus has gone and find a safe place to cross.
Bus Safety Week runs from 21 to 27 February.
