A Close Encounter ...

... of the Third Kind. Contact.

The blue paint on this car came from a bus. Not, by the way, a bus I was driving.

Here is the situation. At the end of the 438 route, there is a place to turn around the buses.

It is possible to turn a bus around without doing a 3 point turn. The old Mercedes-Benz buses are easiest because they have a short wheelbase. The Volvo B12 buses have a longer wheelbase but a good turning radius. The Volvo B10s are the hardest because they have a long wheelbase and a poor turning radius.

The problem occurs because of tail swing. The end of the bus is about 2 metres behind the rear axle. The buses turn in a clockwise direction. To do the turn in one go requires the driver to start as far left as possible and to turn sharply. When the bus turns right, the tail goes left. The car on the left in this photo is the one at risk.

I have seen at least 2 cars with blue paint on them.