Yea, it’s a bus driver but It is a professional driver so close enough related to this forum .
I personally think the bus company is going to be taken to the cleaners by Unite. What do you guys think? I can’t think of any reason why someone who is 5ft can not safely drive a bus. The Army height requirement is 4ft8 for women and there is no height requirement for the police.
I’ve also known male truckers who were 5ft or close to it and they had no issue driving their trucks. Was quite amusing watching them climb in to the truck though.
But yea, Buses/trucks should be able to be used by people of a range of different heights and 5ft is not so far off the national average (avg uk height for females is 5ft4). If someone was say 4ft then yea, I could understand it.
But what do you guys think? You ever seen height cause an issue in your line of work? The only exemption I have seen is at Argos. I believe anyone over 6ft2 does not have to drive the urban double deck trailers. As the top deck is 6ft high so they would have to duck while unloading the top deck.
She has been there as a driver for 34 yrs. The new mirrors being fitted means she cant see without moving her body too much. Looks to me that the new mirrors are the problem then? She hasnt changed: the job has.
Offering a different job? OK maybe, but not one involving a pay cut, that is wrong.
Im a 5’4 shortarse and i have no problems driving, working etc…occasionally if a trailer door has a short strap to pull it down I have to ask a ‘giant’ to pull it down for me
I’m sure they will get royally screwed over for this, maybe with a new driver starting who was unable they would have some grounds but you cannot bin off a loyal employee of 34 years.
Well out of order, hopefully she will get a nice payout for unfair dismissal and a new job with someone better.
I am height-challenged at 5’3, and often struggle with the airlines on tanker trailers that are halfway up the tank. As they are about shoulder height to me, I can’t get enough oomph behind them. I have tried lubing the connections, altering the trailer/unit height to get a better angle, and shouting at them. Fortunately, the company I work for are looking at getting some sort of step fixed to the unit to make me taller…
Go on Unite, shaft the buggers royally and in the meantime bring the shed out on strike. This is an absolute disgrace. This needs the engineers to put every similar bus, in the garages the company runs, off the road as defective if the mirrors can’t be seen from every position of the seat. Go back several decades and London Transport would not accept applicants for a bus driving job over a certain height because the cabs were too cramped.
We have a similar issue with the new Iveco S way. Disregarding driver height, with a narrow cab tractor unit it is not possible to position the n/s mirror so that an adequate view of the nearside of the trailer and surrounding area can be seen, that being with a curtainsider; quite what a fridge would be like I hate to think, it is much worse than a 4 Series Scania. The supplying dealer sent out a salesman who took it out for a short test drive and declared that it was perfectly OK. I watched him duck out of the chance to park up three feet away from a trailer on his nearside.
Considering we have a shortage of bus drivers you’d think they would try to keep her.
Kinda smells to me like management are just finding an excuse of getting rid of a long serving employee that’s either causing issues or is on a old contract.
That’s my suspicion anyway have no proof just conjecture lol.
Modern management, loyal staff? just a number to them, discarded like a used swan vesta the moment it suits.
If this gets as far as a tribunal whoever made this decision is likely to be eating a large portion of humble pie.
Going by the hours these bus companies expect you to work, then 60 hrs a week at £20 hr. At a guess with 34 years service then she is probably about 55, leaving 12 years service to come is not far short of £750K . Then there is mental stress and injury to self esteem, so we’ll double it, that’s £1.5 Million, add on punitive damages for discriminatory actions another £1Million, and breach of contract another £ half million. That makes £3 million. At around £330,000 for a double decker that’s 9/10 brand new buses. And then there’s costs.
cav551:
Going by the hours these bus companies expect you to work, then 60 hrs a week at £20 hr. At a guess with 34 years service then she is probably about 55, leaving 12 years service to come is not far short of £750K . Then there is mental stress and injury to self esteem, so we’ll double it, that’s £1.5 Million, add on punitive damages for discriminatory actions another £1Million, and breach of contract another £ half million. That makes £3 million. At around £330,000 for a double decker that’s 9/10 brand new buses. And then there’s costs.
There must be more to this than meets the eye. it appears from the article that this has been going on for a while and the mirrors were only replaced when knocked off and when ever the bus that was used on her route had the mirrors replaced she was swapped onto a different route. Im not a bus driver so i dont know for sure but i assume someone has to teach the new route to her and her old route to whoever was doing it before her.
Both her and the company must of seen this coming but neither did anything serious about it till it came to the point that there isnt any route she can do.
cooper1203:
There must be more to this than meets the eye. it appears from the article that this has been going on for a while and the mirrors were only replaced when knocked off and when ever the bus that was used on her route had the mirrors replaced she was swapped onto a different route. Im not a bus driver so i dont know for sure but i assume someone has to teach the new route to her and her old route to whoever was doing it before her.
Both her and the company must of seen this coming but neither did anything serious about it till it came to the point that there isnt any route she can do.
Don’t talk wet, drivers are type trained and do route learning, all drivers are expected to know all routes… listen you can’t even drive a truck properly and yet have a cheek to have a dig at her…. She has done nothing wrong, she is being discriminated against by height …. The COIF of buses change… no reason for a mirror height to change… maybe you might see some of your problems coming in the future
cooper1203:
There must be more to this than meets the eye. it appears from the article that this has been going on for a while and the mirrors were only replaced when knocked off and when ever the bus that was used on her route had the mirrors replaced she was swapped onto a different route. Im not a bus driver so i dont know for sure but i assume someone has to teach the new route to her and her old route to whoever was doing it before her.
Both her and the company must of seen this coming but neither did anything serious about it till it came to the point that there isnt any route she can do.
Don’t talk wet, drivers are type trained and do route learning, all drivers are expected to know all routes… listen you can’t even drive a truck properly and yet have a cheek to have a dig at her…. She has done nothing wrong, she is being discriminated against by height …. The COIF of buses change… no reason for a mirror height to change… maybe you might see some of your problems coming in the future
i didnt have a dig at her i guess you cant comprehend engliush properly
cooper1203:
There must be more to this than meets the eye. it appears from the article that this has been going on for a while and the mirrors were only replaced when knocked off and when ever the bus that was used on her route had the mirrors replaced she was swapped onto a different route. Im not a bus driver so i dont know for sure but i assume someone has to teach the new route to her and her old route to whoever was doing it before her.
Both her and the company must of seen this coming but neither did anything serious about it till it came to the point that there isnt any route she can do.
Don’t talk wet, drivers are type trained and do route learning, all drivers are expected to know all routes… listen you can’t even drive a truck properly and yet have a cheek to have a dig at her…. She has done nothing wrong, she is being discriminated against by height …. The COIF of buses change… no reason for a mirror height to change… maybe you might see some of your problems coming in the future
i didnt have a dig at her i guess you cant comprehend engliush properly
I understand English fully well, tell me how a driver will see it coming when she would have no clue on what new buses the company order…. Not like trucks … it’s. not the onus of her to do anything, she addresses her concerns and sacked for no lawful reason … wouldn’t of happened in LT days there was a cab test under 5ft 4 over 6ft 1 I believe I’m 6ft 3 and had to be tested in the routemaster and Titan and metro to ensure I. Was within right size… that was revoked as illegal … they have no legal leg to stand on let’s hope she takes them to the cleaners. Certificate of initial fitness, would of had the mirrors in said place if the mirrors are moved well.
Tracey said the firm began replacing broken “branch” mirrors to the side of the windscreen with side mirrors, around two years ago.
When Tracey tried to drive these buses, she’d have to lean around a pillar on the cab assault screen to see the mirror, meaning her feet lifted off the pedals.
Tracey brought this to management’s attention and bosses assigned her routes driving single and double deckers with the old-style mirrors, she claims.
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