Sharing Manitoba Roads: Buses, Bikes, Farms

Photo: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

This guide covers Chapter 7 of the MPI Driver’s Handbook, Sharing the Road, plus the related rules for school buses, emergency vehicles, farm equipment and off-road vehicles. In Manitoba, you must stop at least 5 m from a school bus with flashing red lights, from either direction, unless a physical median or ditch separates you. When passing a cyclist, you must leave at least 1 m.

School buses in Manitoba

Flashing amber lights: the bus is about to stop. Slow down and prepare to stop.
Flashing red lights and stop arm out: do not pass from either direction. Stop at least 5 m from the bus.
Stay stopped until the red lights go off and the stop arm folds in.
Exception: you don’t stop if you are going the opposite way on a road divided by a physical median or ditch. A double solid line is not a physical separation.
Illegally passing a school bus brings a large fine and moves you down the Driver Safety Rating scale.

For how Manitoba compares with other provinces, see school bus stopping rules across Canada.

School zones and playgrounds

You may not pass a moving vehicle in a school area within 15 minutes of classes opening or closing, or at any time children are on the school grounds or near the road.
Reduced school-zone limits can be as low as 30 km/h where the normal limit is under 80 km/h, and 50 km/h where it is 80 km/h or more. Signs show when they apply.
School safety patrols in high-visibility vests and flags mean children are nearby.
Drive slowly and be ready to stop suddenly when a child is on or near the road, or close to a school or playground.

Cyclists: how much room to give

When you overtake a cyclist or power-assisted bicycle going the same way, keep at least 1 m between your vehicle and the rider. Depending on where they are in the lane, that may mean changing lanes. Give more room at highway speeds.

Don’t pass a cyclist: in a construction zone narrowed to one lane, in a lane too narrow to pass at a safe distance, or in a yield lane.

Expect a cyclist to move toward the middle of the lane when they are avoiding potholes, puddles or construction, staying clear of opening car doors, turning left, going straight past a right-turn-only lane, passing slower traffic, or riding on a one-way street with more than three lanes. The law asks them to ride as close to the right as is practicable, which leaves them room for judgment.

Turning left: yield to oncoming cyclists, just as you would to cars.
Turning right: yield to cyclists on your right. Don’t pass a cyclist just before you turn right.
Check for cyclists before opening your door, and dim your lights for oncoming cyclists at night.
Cyclists have the same rights and duties as drivers and must obey the same signs and signals. Only their position on the road differs.
Slow down near cyclists, leave a safe following distance in case one stops suddenly, and watch for hazards they may steer around, such as debris.
Children on bicycles can be unpredictable and many don’t signal. Slow down, and learn the cyclist hand signals for stopping and turning.

Pedestrians

Pedestrians have the right-of-way at marked and unmarked crosswalks. An unmarked crosswalk is the extension of a sidewalk across an intersection.
Never pass a vehicle that is slowing or stopped for pedestrians.
Go only when pedestrians have safely crossed or reached the median of a divided road. All pedestrians may use school crosswalks.
No parking or stopping within 3 m of a crosswalk, or within 15 m of a pedestrian corridor (the crossings with large lit overhead signs and flashing amber lights).
If a blind person raises their cane, stop and give them the right-of-way. Don’t rev your engine or sound your horn near a guide dog.
If you drive a hybrid, your engine may make no sound near a blind person, so take extra care.

Farm equipment on Manitoba roads

Tractors, combines and other farm equipment travel at a maximum of 40 km/h. At highway speed you close on them faster than you expect.
Implements can take up more than half the road, or a whole bridge.
Slow down well ahead. Look at the machine carefully to judge its full width and length before you pass or meet it.
Oversize loads may have pilot vehicles with a yellow flashing light and a lit “WIDE LOAD” sign, running 100 to 500 m ahead of or behind the load.
To drive heavy or agricultural equipment on provincial highways and urban roads, you need at least a Class 5 Intermediate licence. Learners may only do so with a supervising driver.
Those roads don’t include rural municipal roads, service roads or winter roads run by a local government. If you are suspended, prohibited or disqualified, you can be charged for operating this equipment on provincial highways or urban roads. A drug and alcohol restriction on your licence also applies to this equipment on any road.

Snowmobiles, ATVs and other off-road vehicles

MPI defines an off-road vehicle as any motorized vehicle built for travel on land, water, ice, snow, marsh or other natural terrain, such as snowmobiles, ATVs and dirt bikes.
Class 5L learners may not drive off-road vehicles along or across highways. From the Intermediate Stage you may.
Manitoba’s impaired-driving laws cover off-road vehicles too. If you are convicted of certain Criminal Code offences, you are also disqualified from driving an off-road vehicle.

Large trucks and transit buses

Big trucks have deep “No-Zone” blind spots behind and on both sides. If you can’t see the truck’s mirrors, the driver can’t see you.
Stay well back of a truck, and don’t stay in a side blind spot, because the driver may change lanes.
After passing a truck, wait until you can see its whole cab in your rear-view mirror before pulling in.
Trucks may swing left to turn right. Never squeeze between the truck and the curb.
A 12.2 m transit bus has a blind spot of 4.3 m on the right, 1.5 m on the left and 12.2 m behind.
Let a signalling transit bus pull out. Buses display “Please Yield” decals on the back.
Keep a safe distance from buses, since many collisions are vehicles rear-ending them. Don’t assume a bus will stop at every stop.
Turn right only from the extreme right lane. Turning right from the second lane in front of a bus is illegal, so wait behind it. If it sits with its hazard lights on a short distance from the intersection, signal and tap your horn before pulling around the front.
Passengers may be standing, so don’t cut in front of a bus and force it to brake. Some stop lines are set back to give large vehicles room to turn, and buses have special turning privileges at some intersections. Shoulder check before opening your door so you don’t hit a passing bus or truck.

Emergency vehicles and tow trucks

When an emergency vehicle approaches with lights and siren: clear the intersection, pull as close as possible to the right edge, and stop until it passes. On a one-way street, pull to the nearest curb.
If you are stopped at a red light or stop sign and blocking its path, go through with caution to clear the way. The alarm may be a horn, gong, bell or siren, and the lights may be flashing red, red and blue, or alternating headlights.
When passing a stopped emergency vehicle, tow truck or enforcement vehicle with warning lights on: slow to no more than 40 km/h where the limit is under 80 km/h, or 60 km/h where it is 80 km/h or more. Move to the farthest lane if it is safe.
The move-over rule applies to drivers on either side of an undivided highway. Speeding past can bring a significant fine and a drop on the Driver Safety Rating scale.

More detail: slow down, move over across Canada.

Construction zones and the zipper merge

Slow down, watch for workers, leave extra space and be ready to stop. Lanes may close or traffic may be redirected.
Obey a flagperson, including a signal to slow down or stop.
In a designated construction zone, marked by a special sign at each end, speeding fines double whether or not workers or equipment are present and whether or not the limit has been lowered. A conviction can also move you down the Driver Safety Rating scale.
Zipper merge: where signs ask for it at a lane closure, use both lanes up to the merge point, then take turns. If you are changing lanes, signal. If you are in the open lane, let one vehicle in.

Animals and horses

MPI says Manitoba has about 10,000 animal-vehicle collisions a year, many involving deer. Deer are most active in the fall, with peak danger from sunset to midnight and just after sunrise. If an animal crosses your path, brake firmly and avoid swerving. When passing horses, slow down, leave plenty of room and don’t sound your horn. See moose, deer and caribou on Canadian roads.

Watch for wildlife signs and shining eyes, and use high beams when you can. Deer travel in groups, so expect more than one. If an animal is in your path, dim your lights so it doesn’t freeze and give one long blast of the horn. If you can’t avoid hitting a very large animal such as a moose, get below the windshield. After a collision, move safely off the road, call the local road authority and don’t approach the animal.

Riders and carriage drivers have the right to use the road. Be ready to stop if a rider signals you to, and speed up only once you are well past.

Common questions

Do you have to stop for a school bus on a divided highway in Manitoba?

Only if you are travelling behind it, or if the road is divided by just painted lines. If a physical median or ditch separates you and you are going the other way, you don’t stop.

How far do you stop from a school bus in Manitoba?

At least 5 m, whichever direction you are approaching from.

How much space do you give a cyclist in Manitoba?

At least 1 m when passing, and more at higher speeds.

Can I pass farm equipment on a solid line?

The handbook says a solid line on your side means you must not pass. Wait for a broken line and a clear view of the full length of the machine.

Can I ride a snowmobile across a highway with a learner’s licence?

No. Class 5L learners may not drive off-road vehicles along or across highways.

Back to the full guide to learning to drive in Manitoba. Related: Manitoba turning and lane changes and Manitoba poor driving conditions.

Sources

Manitoba Public Insurance, “Driver’s Handbook: School Buses”, “Emergency Vehicles”, “Transit Buses” and “No-Zone Around Large Vehicles” (apps.mpi.mb.ca)
Manitoba Public Insurance, “Driver’s Handbook: Construction Zones” and “Zipper Merge” (apps.mpi.mb.ca)
Manitoba Public Insurance, “Driver’s Handbook: Crosswalks”, “Pedestrian Corridors”, “People Who are Blind” and “School and Playground Areas” (apps.mpi.mb.ca)
Manitoba Public Insurance, “Driver’s Handbook: Motorist and Cyclists”, “Understanding a Cyclist’s Position on the Road” and “Passing a Cyclist” (apps.mpi.mb.ca)
Manitoba Public Insurance, “Driver’s Handbook: Farm Equipment”, “Pilot Vehicles”, “Operating Heavy and Agricultural Equipment” and “Animals” (apps.mpi.mb.ca)
Manitoba Public Insurance, “Driver’s Handbook: Impaired Driving” and “Licence Suspension for Conviction” (apps.mpi.mb.ca)
Manitoba Public Insurance, “Driver’s Handbook: Graduated Driver Licensing Class 5” and “Pavement Markings” (apps.mpi.mb.ca)

Sharing Manitoba Roads: School Buses, Cyclists, Farm Equipment