Insurance Articles

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School minibus insurance does not negate duty of care Posted: 09 Jul 2012 10:54 AM PDT Anyone who works in a school, either directly or indirectly, has a duty of care to its students. The level of which this duty is required obviously differs depending on which capacity you are involved with the school and its students. For example, a teacher has a very different set of responsibilities to the school caretaker, a third party tradesman needs to ensure he keeps his working areas safe, and casual visitors should obey standard safety procedures etc. If you are a teacher, a pastoral member of staff or a volunteer, driving a school minibus brings extra responsibilities. It is easy to think that as 'just the driver' the onus is on the school to ensure all other obligations are me – not true. You wouldn't get into your own car and drive your own children around unless you knew it was safe, that you are qualified to drive it and that you have the right insurance. The same applies here. The minibus should be roadworthy, you need to have the right kind of license, and the vehicle should have school minibus insurance. The driver of a school minibus, however connected with the school, should • Know when the last service was • Has the bus been involved in any accidents • Review the log book • Check the tyre treads and pressure before setting off • Check that the internal structure is fine – i.e. the seats aren't loose and the seatbelts all function properly. • Have the contact details for a senior member of staff • Have access to a breakdown service via the school Driving a minibus is not the same as driving a standard family car, and before any journey, a short drive should be taken to become familiar with the vehicle if the driver has never driven it before. It is no good setting off thinking that school minibus insurance will cover any mishaps. The drive itself should be safe – your cargo is precious. If your passengers are under 14 you need to check they all have their seatbelts on and whilst legally, kids over the age of 14 are responsible for wearing their seatbelts you can still enforce it by refusing to move until they are all seated and belted up. Check that you are qualified by your license to drive the minibus and, if you are a regular school minibus driver, consider joining MiDAS (Minibus Driver Awareness Scheme) and take one of their training courses. School minibus insurance can be purchased from Redmetro

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