I recently undertook a hire which involved the transport of 80+ students.
My vehicle had 70 seats, which left the remaining to be moved in a school minibus, driven by a teacher. The apparent ignorance of drivers’ hours rules became blatantly clear.
Having opted to split my break, I arrived back at the first venue which permitted the balance of 30 minutes. During this time, the party arrived back expecting to be whisked away to their next stop; the lead teacher being surprised when I announced the need to be legal.
Clearly, he was unfamiliar with drivers’ hours. He had arrived at his school before everyone else, was briefing the students when I arrived at the initial pick-up, drove the minibus, was supervising throughout the day, and logically at no time was he ever free of responsibility. Even if nominally he did take a break, he was still working, so in effect was also in conflict with the working time directive as it applies to the road transport industry.
Why wait for a serious incident to focus attention when the apparent ignorance of rules is plain to see?
Chris Brown,
Longmynd Travel,
Shrewsbury
