PCV Drivers Responsibilities - Seat Belt Use
Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 11:24 am
It is stated that a coach driver is responsible for ensuring that children under 14 years of age wear seat belts, in reality I don't know what I am supposed to do if they don't want to as our nanny state tells children that they can do what they like and that adults telling them what to do are just trying to cause them psychological harm which they can press charges for.
As far as I am aware I do not have to make an announcement before driving the school coach in the morning, there is signage on the coach identifying that seat belts must be worn. On the return run on one of my employers school run a head teacher checks that the children are wearing seat belts before the coach departs.
There is one school contract in particular where seat belts rules are constantly ignored, some children on this run are older than 14 years of age. It is stated that a coach driver is responsible for taking reasonable measures to ensure that seat belts are worn but what I want to know is what I can actually do?
When starting the school run in question I make sure that all children are seated and facing forward, if an announcement was made in any form the children would immediately rebel and subsequently not wear seat belts and constantly run around the coach.
The only actions I take are that when stopped at a set down point I will check to see is the remaining children are seated and I do not move the coach until they are, often they complain and they are simply told that once everybody is seated I will resume driving, This means that they sit down until the coach is moving and continue running around once the coach is moving.
I am not allowed to remove disruptive children from the coach, we are not allowed to revoke passes and I am very busy focusing mainly on driving the coach and so cannot enforce order when the coach is moving.
One evening I contacted the school in question and advised them of the situation onboard the coach, my employer contacted the councils education department and we requested an escort be provided for the run but this was ignored. We also requested that a police community officer visit the school as we were also having problems with items being thrown around the coach but they could not be bothered.
So what am I supposed to do? if this coach gets stopped am I likely to be charged?
As far as I am aware I do not have to make an announcement before driving the school coach in the morning, there is signage on the coach identifying that seat belts must be worn. On the return run on one of my employers school run a head teacher checks that the children are wearing seat belts before the coach departs.
There is one school contract in particular where seat belts rules are constantly ignored, some children on this run are older than 14 years of age. It is stated that a coach driver is responsible for taking reasonable measures to ensure that seat belts are worn but what I want to know is what I can actually do?
When starting the school run in question I make sure that all children are seated and facing forward, if an announcement was made in any form the children would immediately rebel and subsequently not wear seat belts and constantly run around the coach.
The only actions I take are that when stopped at a set down point I will check to see is the remaining children are seated and I do not move the coach until they are, often they complain and they are simply told that once everybody is seated I will resume driving, This means that they sit down until the coach is moving and continue running around once the coach is moving.
I am not allowed to remove disruptive children from the coach, we are not allowed to revoke passes and I am very busy focusing mainly on driving the coach and so cannot enforce order when the coach is moving.
One evening I contacted the school in question and advised them of the situation onboard the coach, my employer contacted the councils education department and we requested an escort be provided for the run but this was ignored. We also requested that a police community officer visit the school as we were also having problems with items being thrown around the coach but they could not be bothered.
So what am I supposed to do? if this coach gets stopped am I likely to be charged?