LAST YEAR

OVER 3 MILLION
PEOPLE DIED !
WAS IT:-

WAR ?
FAMINE ?
EPIDEMIC ?
NATURAL DISASTER ?
 NO
THEY DIED ON

THE WORLD’S ROADS

 DURING THIS LECTURE

63
PEOPLE WILL BE KILLED OR
SERIOUSLY INJURED ON OUR
ROADS.
(ONE PERSON EVERY 9 MINUTES OF A WORKING DAY)
 OBJECTIVES
you will be able to:

• Apply your knowledge of defensive

driving techniques to safely
operate your vehicle
• Ensure that through good driving
skills wear and damage is kept to a
minimum
 INTRODUCTION
• Identifying causes of accidents
• Accident costs
• Dual Tasking
• Defensive driving techniques
• Forces at work
• Identifying vulnerable road users
• MSM
• Moving off and stopping
 INTRODUCTION
• Blind spots
• Junctions
• Road positioning
• Courtesy and consideration
• Adverse conditions
• Stopping conditions
• Use of speed
 SOME FACTS
*Most at risk are males, and attitude is a major
factor. (Surely men can’t be bad drivers!)

*Learn from your mistakes. If you have an accident

you are twice as likely to have another one within
the next three years.

*People most at risk are pedestrians especially the

elderly and children.
WHAT CAUSED THESE
ACCIDENTS?
IS THIS THE SAFEWAY TO DRIVE?
STRAY SHEEP ON A1M
 SOME FACTS

Accidents rarely just happen!

95% of accidents are due to
human error
IT’S NOT AN ACCIDENT IT’S A

CRASH!
ACCIDENTS ARE COSTLY TO :-
REPUTATIONS
JOBS
INCOME
LIFE
 INSURANCE
Our insurance cover is third party only.
We have a £750,000 excess
Accident costs come directly from your
own depot’s budget
Each vehicle costs on average £1264 a
year to insure
The damage to the vehicle you collided
with is minimal, the driver of the other
vehicle does not make a claim.
However
The 23 passengers travelling on your
vehicle each submit a claim for on
average £500 each.
 Buses are one of the safest
forms of transport.
During 2004 only 20 people were killed in Bus Accidents
in Great Britain out of the total of 3,221 Road Fatalities.

Bus accidents are rare but readily

reported, however, they sell
Newspapers.
WHAT MAKES A GOOD
DRIVER?

SPEND FIVE MINUTES JOTTING DOWN YOUR

IDEAS
GOOD DRIVERS HAVE:-

•SKILL
•KNOWLEDGE
•OBSERVATION
•PERCEPTION
•PATIENCE
•EXPERIENCE
(not the same as length of service)
•A LITTLE LUCK
 Driving Standards
Agency Video
“Driving Buses and
Coaches Safely”
 OBSERVATION AND
FORWARD PLANNING
WHAT POINTS DID THE VIDEO MAKE ABOUT:-
• MSM
• Blind spots
• Moving off and stopping
• Junctions
• Road positioning
• Courtesy and consideration
• Height
 Typical Stopping
DistancesStopping Distance
20mph 6m / 20ft 6m / 20ft Thinking Distance
TOTAL = 40ft / 1¹/ ³ BUS LENGTHS
30mph 9m / 30ft 14m / 45ft
TOTAL = 75ft / 2½ BUS LENGTHS

40mph 12m / 40ft 24m / 80ft

TOTAL = 120ft / 4 BUS LENGTHS
50mph 15m / 50ft 38m / 125ft
TOTAL = 175ft / 5¾ BUS LENGTHS

60mph 18m / 60ft 55m / 180ft

TOTAL = 240ft / 8 BUS LENGTHS
70mph 21m / 70ft 75m / 245ft
TOTAL = 315ft / 10½ BUS LENGTHS
SPEED AND DISTANCE
IS 30MPH FAST ON AN OPEN ROAD?
30MPH = 45FEET PER SECOND.
THAT’S 90 FEET EVERY TWO SECONDS
THE TIME IT TAKES TO:-
LIGHT A CIGARETTE
BITE AN APPLE
HAVE A DRINK
ANSWER A MOBILE PHONE
 SPEED
Lack of Distance and Speed is a major
contributory cause of accidents

Below 20mph a
pedestrian has 95%
chance of survival
Above 40mph a
pedestrian has 98%
chance of being killed
THE TWO SECOND RULE
Why not drop back if someone pulls into gap?

On a journey to Newcastle from Ashington could

you afford the time to drop back 60 times?

60 x 2 = 120 seconds
= It’s only2mins.
AND IN FACT WILL PROBABLY SAVE YOU
TIME
THE TWO SECOND RULE

Early Observation
means you can plan
your driving and cut
down on the use of
brakes, thus making
smooth constant
progress.
 DUAL TASKING
Driving is a primary function
Dual Tasking is engaging
in something else that
distracts YOU from the
primary function
 DUAL TASKING

Spend five minutes and

make a note of things bus
drivers do that is an
example of dual tasking
 Things Bus Drivers do which are
“DUAL TASKING”
* Using a mobile phone
* Eating or drinking
* Reading the duty board
* Smoking
* Cashing up
Hazard Perception
 Hazard Perception

What is hazard perception?

The ability to
identify and
respond to a
hazard
HAZARD PERCEPTION
(RISK AWARENESS)
MOST DRIVERS LOOK
MANY DRIVERS SEE
SOME DRIVERS PLAN

FEW DRIVERS ACT

THE PROFESSIONAL, DEFENSIVE,
SURVIVING DRIVER DOES
 Observation

• We may look but we don’t always see

• Observation is a skill

• You can only react to what you

recognise
NATIONAL EXPRESS
COACH HEADING
SOUTH ON A64
AT 2AM
 ARE
YOU
AWARE OF
THE
RISKS?
 HAZARDS
A Hazard is anything which is
POTENTIALLY dangerous

There are 3 main types

• STATIC
• MOVING
• VARIABLE
 STATIC

• JUNCTIONS
• ROUNDABOUTS
• BENDS
• HILL CRESTS
• STREET FURNITURE
(e.g. Railings / Bus Stops / Traffic lights
etc.)
 MOVING

• PEDESTRIANS

• OTHER ROAD USERS

• PASSENGERS
Only Bus Drivers have moving
passengers when driving. This makes
them the most vulnerable of all road
users
 VARIABLE

• ROAD SURFACE

• VISIBILITY

• WEATHER CONDITIONS
 ADVERSE CONDITIONS
• Rain
– Aquaplaning / Floods / After Dry Spell.
• Fog
– Reduced visibility
• Ice
– Skidding
• Snow
• Stopping Conditions -
– Dry / Wet / Ice / Road Condition
 ACCIDENT STATISTICS
“IT WON’T HAPPEN TO ME”
Most of us will leave home this morning
and expect to arrive at work
Each Year -
310,695 PEOPLE PROVED WRONG.
4,520 NEVER LEARNED FROM THEIR FATAL
MISTAKE.
 ACCIDENT STATISTICS
1996 -
3,598 KILLED
THIS IS EQUIVALENT TO 10 JUMBO
JETS FULL OF BRITONS CRASHING THIS YEAR.

WOULD WE LET THAT HAPPEN?

2004-
3,221 KILLED.

IS THIS AN IMPROVEMENT ?
 FINAL SUMARY
we have looked at;
• Causes of accidents
• Costs of accidents
• Dual tasking
• Defensive driving
• Forces at work
• Vulnerable road users
• Observation and forward planning
• Road Conditions
• Use of speed
TAKE CARE ON THE ROADS -
DON’T BECOME
ANOTHER

DEAD
STATISTIC.