Parents dritving on school trips - Are we covered?

claire16c

securityguy wrote: »

Unless you passed your driving test before (many years ago) you need a second test to drive a minibus. And few insurers will tolerate it without a second test anyway.



However the consequences of a child who isn't yours falling ill on a journey where there is only one adult are quite significant. I know of few teachers now who will drive children themselves, and teachers are covered by substantially more relaxed legislation. A minibus containing two adults is a substantially more controlled situation.

I think it's only if the mini bus is over a certain size. My friend was 25 and was able to drive a sports team around at uni for example.

I'm just watching a news report now of a coach driver who was photographed talking on a mobile whilst driving!

CKhalvashi

securityguy wrote: »

Do the parents know this is how the children are being transported? I think I'd be very unhappy about this as a parent. Why can't the school hire a mini-bus with a properly trained driver, or use public transport? Do you have a CRB issued through the school that covers this?

The school is taking 70-ish children from London to Leicester. They're taking 2 minibuses (14 students + 2 adults + driver each), and several of us are going up in cars. I've volunteered some old taxi radios that have been decorating the office wall, and the antenna on the top of my car means that we can constantly communicate with each other in the buses/cars (this falls in an exception on the phone driving laws)

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

Bearing in mind the state of the minibuses and the standard of driving I used to see from them when walking back from dropping the DDs at school - I'd be more than happy to know my kids were safely in a fairly high value car owned by a licensed, DBS checked and insured operator, such as the OP, even when volunteering as part of the SDP part of the insurance, especially as he's taken the time to check that all eventualities are covered.

But CK doesn't normally post over here, so I can see why people haven't read earlier posts of his.

Neither of the cars that we're using will be licensed taxis, although we are still both licensed dual Hackney/Private Hire drivers with East Herts Council, and I'm licensed by the PCO in London for our band vehicles. We both have clean licenses, too, and have been asked to prove this.

It's a valid point that I'm CRB checked by 6 different organisations, and the school are happy to use my 2 week old CRB for this purpose, as they are with OH (our badges get renewed from 1/7 each year). I am also still a taxi operator, even though I'm nothing to do with the day-to-day running of the company as such.

We've got a '62' plate XF Sportbrake, and a '13' plate Range Rover Evoque, so as mentioned, they are both modern, strong, safe cars, with airbags and other features coming out their ears.

claire16c wrote: »

I think it's only if the mini bus is over a certain size. My friend was 25 and was able to drive a sports team around at uni for example.

I'm just watching a news report now of a coach driver who was photographed talking on a mobile whilst driving!

10 or more seats, and not used for voluntary use.

The minibus driving laws wouldn't come into this at all, as there's no money changing hands (it'll probably cost us £40-50 each in fuel, not that I'm too worried)

CK