Curious to know.

patman99

Why you need 2 good eys to drive a bus or LGV but not to drive a car (or ride a motorbike).

Without my glasses, I can read a car number plate at 1.5x the required distance to pass a driving test.

However, as my vision is 80% left-eye dominant, I would not be able to take a test (or even apply for a provisional license) for a bus or lgv (not that I'd want to as I prefer to not spend my life stuck in traffic trying to get to my destination by a set time).

Now, bearing in mind, my car license allows me to drive a bus (30 years old or older), I am quite curious as to the reason. Especcially considering that you still need to make the same observations driving a car as you would when driving anything else.

forgotmyname

Doesn't it affect your depth of perception? With one eye its harder to judge distances?
Doesnt answer the why. But diabetes is the same, Drive a car with it no problem but no HGV for you if your on injections. Driver at my old place was worried because he was close and had to have a very strict diet.

Before the rules changed on coaches i thought that was mad also.

Take a lorry and its restricted to 2 lanes of a 3 lane motorway and limited to 56mph.
Take out the 20 pallets of fluffy pillow and add some seats and windows, Stick 40+ children in it and you can now use the 3rd lane and do 70mph?

Madness.

There are some rules that don't make sense.

daveyjp

Coaches can't use lane 3.

gilbert_and_sullivan

daveyjp wrote: »

Coaches can't use lane 3.

As forgotmyname explained with ''Before the rules changed on coaches''

AdrianC

patman99 wrote: »

Now, bearing in mind, my car license allows me to drive a bus (30 years old or older)

Not in public service, it doesn't.

phill99

My eyes are the same - 80%left dominant and I got my LGV Class C in 2002 and my Class C+ E in 2001. (LGV is the new HGV. HGV hasn't existed for years. C+ E is the old HGV 1).

It wasn't an issue and hasn't been an issue for the 3 yearly medicals since.

patman99

I know you have to pass a medical to apply for an lgv license, but as it included testing both eyes working as a pair I thought that I would have no chance.

Btw, take 1x coach/bus, fit a bed, cooker and sink and it becomes a motorhome and thus can be driven at 70mph and in the 3rd lane of a motorway.
Now that is an oddity in it's own right.

JustinR1979

Workmates have a bus (motorhome), much bigger than our lorries.
So they can do 10 hours driving for work, then jump in bus and drive to Scotland and back.

phill99

patman99 wrote: »

I know you have to pass a medical to apply for an lgv license, but as it included testing both eyes working as a pair I thought that I would have no chance.
.

Evidently you didn't read my post at #6

patman99

I did, hence my comment. I have a mate who drives a bus and he told me that they test both eyes together and then individually. My left eye works well, my right not so well.

Now I know that there is at least 1 other person with the same eye balance as me, I might just apply for the next trainee driver job First advertise in my local rag (always fancied trying to take a pcv or lgv test just to see if I could pass) even if it means I am stuck as a bus driver for 2 years before I can leave (mind you, it would at least gauranttee a permant job for 2 years, so better than a long term agency role).

arcon5

I suspect because a lorry and bus and significantly more deadly than a car and the hours, length of journeys, skill required, sense of urgency etc is likely to be significantly different to somebody driving a car.