Who checks a bus before passengers get on?

[newbie babs]

I was on a bus tonight, the cover on a light fell off and hit a teenager on the head. The bus driver stopped and told us all we had to get off the bus as it could go no further. So we had to get off and waited for the next bus.

He said the vibration had caused it to fall off?

I am curious who checks the busses before passengers get on. Is that done first thing in the morning, or is it when the driver changes shifts and do they take on the responsibility of the bus?

 

[ralphchadkirk]

Well, under road law the drive worthiness of the vehicle is the responsibility of the driver - the same as any car.

 

[gnolife]

Round near me, drivers tend to check buses at places where services terminate, where appropriate (IE not places like Picc Gardens (too busy) or Bridge Hall (where it would block the road) )

 

[mbonwick]

Daily walkround checks must be done by the driver before the vehicle enters service.

I'm surprised that a light cover coming off is enough to take the vehicle out of service - I assume it was one of the interior covers?

 

[455driver]

If you mean a pre service check, that will be carried out by the driver who takes it out of the depot, any check carried out after that will just be a lost property/ security check.

Just because you see a driver walk through the bus does not mean they are checking anything else, they could just be looking for a paper, vibration can make screws work loose and things like this cannot be anticipated, although you can bet your bottom dollar the no win/ no fee solicitor will already be writing to let the bus company know about the nightmares, flashbacks, inability to leave the house that the injured party has suffered so as to increase the compensation claim, all the symptoms will of course be magically cured when the cheque is banked, its the modern way you know.

 

[newbie babs]

Yes it was the interior light cover on the arch of the roof.

455driver, if a driver takes over a bus on their shift, don`t they have any responsibility. He was quite happy to say to the boy "you seem ok, don`t you", something he could not possibly know.

Imagine if it had been a baby in a pushchair because that`s where the pushchairs go.

It seems odd it may get checked once a day but then not until the next day when the roads in Sheffield as so bad to drive on, perhaps it should be something a driver checks regularly.

 

[BestWestern]

To be honest, something like a light diffuser is unlikely to be picked up on the daily pre-service checks, unless it is visibly hanging off. Chances are it probably worked loose during the shift, and eventually fell. It would obviously have been loose for a time, but as I say unlikely to have been noted.

Unless it's changed, the procedure should be that the first driver of the day does a full check of the vehicle, and subsequent drivers just list anything that crops up later in the day. Nobody would have been held responsible for something like this incident unless they had been advised of it and ignored it. The passenger though would be perfectly entitled to make a claim I would imagine. The driver ought to have taken his details and made the usual offer of medical assistance being called if needed, and reported it at the end of his shift.

 

[daikilo]

Well, under road law the drive worthiness of the vehicle is the responsibility of the driver - the same as any car.

Public service vehichle law is specific.

That said, such an event could have had an alternative outcome such as the Central Control could have allowed the driver to continue the journey, possibly with restrictions on passenger locations. As far as I am aware the loss of a light cover is not a life-threatening event.

 

[TheManWho]

It is a legal requirement for a driver to do "walk around" checks before taking a bus out of the depot in the morning/afternoon- these walk around checks are both on the exterior and interior of the bus, notification of any faults found should then be given and if neccessary, the fault must be rectified before the vehicle leaves the depot. Companies provide drivers with a log card that must be filled in during the progress of a drivers duty- this log card includes any faults found and any lost mileage (when a bus is curtailed short of its normal final destination.) Drivers are also allocated "walk around checks" time as part of their duties- or certainly were at the bus companies I was a supervisor at.

Once a driver has takes over a vehicle for the second (or third) part of his/her duty, a walk around check must be made again- this must be done either immediately or at the first availabile opportunity where a "live" handover has taken place

 

[BestWestern]

Once a driver has takes over a vehicle for the second (or third) part of his/her duty, a walk around check must be made again- this must be done either immediately or at the first availabile opportunity where a "live" handover has taken place

Interesting how these things vary, my old (major national) firm never instructed any subsequent walk-round inspections, just for the initial driver at the start of the day and then later drivers just signed the card and noted anything that cropped up. That was several years ago now though. In my experience, most early morning faults found would involve failed bulbs in exterior lights, and were usually left for another day and the bus would go on out.

 

[anthony263]

Normally most drivers would just check the bus when they take it out at the start of the day, or if they are informed by the other driver if they are taking a differnt vehicle.

I have known 1 or 2 drivers to do a quick full walk round check with each bus they are booked to take out providing they have a few minutes before they have to depart.

As for the interior light fitting coming off I have seen this happen once or twice in fact it happened with a bus I had, bus didnt come out of service in fact the problem was written down and another member of staff came to have a look.

I did see the bus running around later the same day with the light fitting being held by dut tape

 

[Statto]

I've seen it myself, drivers doing a full walk round a few times as they'll have to check Headlights, Indicators ecc.

If any of the exterior lights, wing mirrors ecc are not working, then the bus cannot be put into service think that applies to doors including emergency exit, engine covers as well.

 

[trentside]

I did see the bus running around later the same day with the light fitting being held by dut tape

I think without that stuff, the bus industry would fall to bits - literally.

I remember an operator around here that fixed most problems in the passenger saloon with it. Another operator I once had the misfortune to travel with had repaired a seat using a piece of plyboard taped over the seat cushion.

 

[Graeme.Davis]

I'm sure the Driver is supposed to check the bus before it is placed on its service route .

 

[ChrisCooper]

It's the same with trains too, the first driver will be expected to check everything over, but after that only a brake test is required when taking over. It's not practical for drivers to do a full check everytime they take over a vehicle, especially where changes occur in service as opposed to at a terminus. Passengers can get frustrated enough whilst a drive is adjusting the seat, sorting their money out and logging onto the ticket machine, let alone doing a full check of the bus. There is also the safety aspect, checking things on the offside whilst on the road isn't safe.

Something like the incident described just sounds like one of those things that isn't really anyone fault, but is unfortunate for the victim. The legal responsibility for roadworthyness does rest with the driver, but in all cases like that there is a big difference between knowing about a fault and choosing to ignore it or not carrying out proper checks to discover the fault, and a fault occuring without their knowledge. Unless the driver doesn't follow proceedures then it's going to be the company who is reponsible (and even then civil responsibility in terms of compensation is a totally different matter to criminal responsiblity). It's important to remember that accidents are still very much in existance as far as criminal law goes (even manslaughter requires negligance).

 

[driver9000]

Once a driver has takes over a vehicle for the second (or third) part of his/her duty, a walk around check must be made again- this must be done either immediately or at the first availabile opportunity where a "live" handover has taken place

That was never a requirement when I was a a driver. Only the first driver was required to carry out the full check, further drivers were only required to enter their name,duty and times on/off the bus. As long as the bus had a log card on it then there was no need to check it over including coming off a garage.

As for the light fitting falling off, it may have appeared secure at first check and subsequently worked loose. It happened to me.

 

[455driver]

A full pre-service check (the clue is in the name) takes a minimum of 15 minutes to do properly, I take it you would be quite happy for the bus to sit for that amount of time every time it has a driver change, most of the buses I worked had between 3 and 5 minutes between the booked arrival time and the booked departure time (when changing over), you reckon a bus can be off-loaded, checked and loaded in that amount of time do you?

Good luck with the reports and the "tea and biscuits" with your manager if you are going to delay every bus you work by that amount of time.

Oh I WAS a bus driver for 20 years before going to play on the railways and have had some lovely "discussions" with managers insisting I take a bus into service I have not checked over, didnt happen EVER.