Coach driver regulations

The driver may not drive after having been on-duty for 15 hours. All time from the time a driver begins to work or is required to be in readiness to work until the time the driver is relieved from work and all responsibility for performing work. Federal regulations carry over to passengers. This comes into play during the tour, when itinerary modifications may be desired. Group leaders cannot insist on modifications in route that violate the maximum driving time laws for motor coach operators.

Please keep this in mind on tour. Not necessarily. Each motor coach company can design their own guidelines, as long as they are compliant with federal regulations.

Certain companies maintain 14 hours on-duty with 10 consecutive hours off-duty. Keep in mind that motor coach companies are driven to protect their passengers safety.

These regulations are in place for the wellbeing of all travelers, including the motor coach driver. Ready to plan your school trip? This guidance will help you understand and comply with a few important rules and regulations around driver conduct and licensing in the bus and coach PCV industry.

It provides links to sources of more detailed information. As a bus or coach driver, you should follow employer and government guidance to ensure the safety of yourself, your passengers, other road users and pedestrians. In particular, serious convictions for assault, theft or supplying drugs will cause the Traffic Commissioner to consider whether that person is suitable to be driving a bus or coach, given the opportunities such work provides for close contact with the public.

Drink driving, drug driving, speeding and hand-held mobile phone use pose particular risks to road safety. You should tell your employer immediately if you are found guilty of any new motoring offence. Operators have a duty to report all motoring offences committed in any vehicle to the Traffic Commissioner. Find out more about how Traffic Commissioners deal with vocational drivers.

You must complete 35 hours of periodic training every 5 years towards your Driver Certificate of Professional Competence to drive a bus. You must also carry a digital driver card if you have been issued with one, even if you are driving a vehicle with an analogue tachograph. Find out more about how many hours you can drive and the breaks you need to take.

If you have a restricted licence due to medical conditions or you drive abroad, you should apply to renew your driving licence entitlement as soon as possible, generally 60 days before it expires. This will ensure that DVLA has enough time to investigate any medical conditions.

You should be aware that when you renew your vocational entitlement on your licence, the entitlement is valid from the date it is issued by DVLA. This might not correspond with the expiry date of the previous entitlement. Current through September, a For the purposes of pre-service training, every employer of a school bus driver shall inform and educate each driver about the laws and rules relating to school bus operation before allowing the driver to transport school students.

Employers shall test the driver's knowledge of this chapter by administering the examination provided by the department. The employer shall not permit anyone who has not completed the examination with a passing score of seventy-eight percent to transport students in a school bus.

The supervisor shall certify that the driver has performed satisfactorily. The employer shall not permit anyone who has not performed satisfactorily to transport students in a school bus. Notes Haw.