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Your School Bus Driver

School bus and coach drivers have a huge responsibility in keeping students safe.  Did you know that the best way to keep is safe is to support the driver by not distracting him?

When students are noisy or run around inside a vehicle the driver finds it more difficult to concentrate on the road.  

Some facts that may surprise you...

• Bus and coach drivers cannot put a pupil off the vehicle and leave them stranded but they can refuse to allow anyone  to board.  
• It is an offence to ignore a drivers instructions.
• If a bus or coach driver is driving at 30mph and someone steps out in front of them, they will continue to drive for around 9 metres before their brain tells them to brake.  If the driver is being distracted his reaction time becomes longer.  This means it will take him longer to stop and this might be too late for the person who has stepped in front of the vehicle.  
• Your bus or coach driver must carry out a 'walk-around' check before driving the vehicle out of the depot to pick up passengers.  The check takes 15 minutes to complete and includes checks to the bus or coach externally and internally.  All of this is for your safety and is a legal requirement.
• A PCV driver has the same legal authority as an airline pilot and has the final say over who and what is carried.