l l l l Home New Models Industry Green News Odds n’Ends MiDAS When you pass your driving test, it is not just a car that you become entitled to drive. Tom Scanlan discovers he can be a minibus driver… --------------- What is a minibus? Yes, of course it’s a Ford Transit or Mercedes Sprinter or LDV, or whatever, with windows, but there is a definition: if the vehicle has from nine to sixteen passenger seats, then it’s a minibus. There are around 57,000 minibuses currently licensed in the UK, with about 7000 new registrations annually. And who can drive a minibus? Anyone with a driving licence? Well, it’s not that simple… As a part-time sports teacher at a town-based prep school, it is necessary for me to pile my class into a minibus to take them up to the local public sports field for their football or rugby. This being quite some responsibility, and although I managed to pass the DIA test last year, it turned out to be quite a relief to find that there is an organisation called MiDAS (standing for Minibus Driver Awareness Scheme and operated by the Hampshire-based Community Transport Association) that’s ready and able to be called in and give instruction and carry out a driver assessment. MiDAS is not an official government body, but a charitable organisation that earns its money through such instruction and assessment sessions (there is no such thing as an official minibus driving test). It is nationally recognised. MiDAS Driver Assessment Trainer Eric Goulding found himself directed to the school music room for his session with my colleagues and me. As long as he has a space for his visual aid show, Eric can work pretty well anywhere. As we learnt, MiDAS, with around 3000 members in the UK, says that safety is its priority. But coming into the frame as another important factor is ecology and, therefore, understanding how best to drive economically is also part of any lesson. However, lurking in the background, waiting to catch out the uninformed, is the law. Returning, then, to the question of who can drive a minibus. There are two important factors: when you passed your driving test; and how the minibus is being used. If you passed your test before 1997, you can drive a minibus for a non-commercial body, such as a school or a community transport group; you can be paid for driving, for example as a driver/caretaker or a dial-a-ride driver. This entitlement is shown on newer-style licences as D1 (restriction 1 or 101, not for hire or reward) and on older- style licences as Groups A,E. If you passed your driving test from 1997 onwards and have two years with a full licence under your belt and are at least 21years of age, you can drive a minibus, but are much more restricted. You can only drive a minibus if you meet certain conditions; for instance, you must be driving on a voluntary basis. The minibus must be being used for social purposes by a non-commercial body. If you are paid as a driver/caretaker, you need to take a D1 test. If you drive in connection with your paid employment, you also need to take a D1 test. This applies, for example, to teachers who want to use the school minibus. And this leads to a grey area: does a teacher’s job description include driving a minibus? If so, then that teacher is being paid; if not, then the teacher is doing it voluntarily. MiDAS describes this as a grey area, but says that this has not to their knowledge yet been tested in court. However, it is an extremely important issue, as it can also affect insurance; so, in an accident, the driver could be held to be liable to pay out a very large sum of money. And, depending on the circumstances, so could the body for whom the driver is driving. The safe way is to ensure that you have passed the D1 test or are properly entitled. Then there is another issue: the weight of the vehicle. Once again, the rules vary according to when you passed your test. For those passing after January 1st, 1997, the maximum weight of the minibus is limited to 3.5 tonnes. This weight is the ‘maximum authorised mass’, which means that if the weight of the minibus and its passengers exceeds that -- as it might do with a load of adult rugby players, for example -- then that is illegal. In the case of what is called an ‘accessible’ minibus, enabling disabled passengers and their wheelchairs or other equipment to be carried, as could well be the case for a volunteer driving a care-home bus, then for holders of post 1997 licences the maximum authorised mass must not exceed 4.25 tonnes. Already, then, we can see that a minibus is not something that anyone can just climb aboard and drive a group of people away in. The summary so far: the date upon which the driving test was passed is crucial and the nature of the body operating the minibus is crucial; and whether you can be paid to drive is an issue also to be clear about. Anyone driving a minibus must of course observe all the rules of the road. This starts of course with the vehicle being roadworthy, taxed, insured and so on, so nothing new here…although ask yourself how often you check around your own car before driving off in it. It is the legal duty of a minibus driver to ensure his bus is roadworthy; any defects should be reported to the owners and the bus not driven if necessary. Unlike a car, a minibus has a gangway. Under a minibus driver’s legal duty of care, the gangway (and the exits) should be kept clear of obstructions and doors left unlocked; seat belt laws need to be observed -- if you have a busful of passengers under 16, then, as in a car, it is the driver’s responsibility to ensure that they are all wearing their safety belts. Any adult passenger assumes his or her own responsibility. And what of speed limits? Ask a cross-section of car drivers what the maximum speed for a minibus in the UK is and the chances are they would only be able to guess. In fact, minibus speed limits are different; on a 70mph dual carriageway the maximum is 60 mph, and on a national speed limit single carriageway the minibus limit is again 10 mph lower, at 50 mph. The outside or third lane of a motorway should not be used. In fact, all new minibuses have a speed limiter in the engine management system that restricts them to 62 mph. If it all sounds restricting, or even daunting, in practice it isn’t. It seems more natural to drive a minibus within the limits than it might do in a car. In my experience, provided your passengers are reasonably quiet (not always the case with a full complement of 10-year-olds), it can actually be quite relaxing to have to take your time. And in cities and towns where there are bus lanes, well, feel free! You are perfectly entitled to use these, and it certainly feels good in rush hour traffic to sail through the jams. It does have to be said, though, that if the bus lane sign indicates that it is for local buses, if you are not, you can‘t! Drivers new to minibus driving tend to find one main area of difficulty, according to MiDAS. That is the length of the vehicle. Yes, they are wider and higher than a car, but the height helps visibility; the width is easy to get used to. It’s the length that  takes more thinking about and this is also because of the extensive rear overhang of the body. Really, it is just a matter of concentration and practice; use of the rear-view mirrors is essential and particularly helpful. Reversing can also be something of a challenge, especially if the minibus is not fitted with parking sensors. The advice from MiDAS is if possible to get a responsible person of at least adult age to help -- in commercial vehicle terms, a ‘banksman’. They should stand towards the back within sight of your driver’s side rear-view mirror and, using hand signals that you can clearly understand, guide you back; you should be able to rely on them that no-one is going to get in the way! Any minibus driver who takes the few hours’ time and trouble to participate in a MiDAS session will undoubtedly benefit himself or herself and all other road-users, not forgetting their valuable payload. Tom Scanlan - Nov 2010