I was in the middle of a drop today in a small Cornish village when a local 21 seater bus appeared around the corner,drove right up to the back of my van,the driver applied the handbrake and sat there looking at me.
I went to his window and said,“You’ve got about 4 feet behind you mate,one shunt and you’ll get around.”
His response - “We’re not allowed to!”
I said “What do you mean,not allowed?”
His reply,“We’ve been told not to reverse,we’re not allowed to.”
After laughing in his face,i let him through as there were several other vehicles building up behind him that i didn’t want to be a pain to.
My two questions are - Would a company seriously instruct its drivers “Not to reverse.” and - what is the legality of this? Can a driver simply say “I’m not reversing!” and MAKE another driver give way to him?
Yes, some local council contracts state no reversing must be done on the route for safety reasons, if one of their inspectors catches you the penalty is usually that the company is not paid for that run. Same penalties apply for not using the correct display, not using a low floor vehicle etc as per the contract, even though the company has done the run. Harsh but true.
How do you “MAKE” another driver give way to you ? If you are parked legally then surely it’s his problem and not yours.
Thats a famous “service bus drivers” excuse! I used to use it myself when becoming stuck because of parked cars but the real excuse is usualy that they cant reverse backwards to save themselfs! Ive now progressed onto coaches and when it comes to reversing, I dont give it any thought and will reverse if needed except last week when I had an argument with a “service bus driver” who gave me the im not reversing excuse and expected me to reverse round a blind bend against traffic, 23 minutes later and me saying I wasnt reversing with children on the bus he gave up and reversed! Oh how I smiled at that one!
Deathstar:
How do you “MAKE” another driver give way to you ? If you are parked legally then surely it’s his problem and not yours.
I was taking into consideration the other vehicles behind the bus.
Perhaps MAKE was not the right word but if you meet one of these merchants on a narrow road and he says “I’m not reversing,i’m not allowed to.”,what choice have you got?
You either give way or sit there all day.
Davnic:
…drove right up to the back of my van…
Is that not the root of the problem right there. Not allowed to reverse and not allowed to look ahead and plan accordingly it seems. 
I used that “rule” when it suited me 
Just like on a diversion down a country lane and white van man came stonking down the other direction, 5 minutes later he came up and said am I not going to move - no Im not allowed to reverse and then he changed his tune and said its one of the crazy rules 
Could I ask the truckers to bear in mind that the buses are regulated by a whole army of bods who who have no knowledge of the real world. They are salaried!!They come up with all sorts of petty regulations and risk assesments,I am not supposed to reverse with children aboard,but on occassion I have to.
alamcculloch:
Could I ask the truckers to bear in mind that the buses are regulated by a whole army of bods who who have no knowledge of the real world. They are salaried!!They come up with all sorts of petty regulations and risk assesments,I am not supposed to reverse with children aboard,but on occassion I have to.
Exactly,sometimes you have to.
The bus driver in question today,literally had to reverse 2 feet,take a shunt and he would have passed me but oh no,it was “I’m not allowed to reverse” blah blah blah.
All i’m asking is for a bit of common sense.
Why can a double decker bus on a works pick up run can go through a 7.5t weight limet, without picking any one up, while the other 2 buses go the proper route which is the correct one and a 4 wheel riged gets pulled by local plod because the residents complain, are they exempt?
suffolk gold:
Why can a double decker bus on a works pick up run can go through a 7.5t weight limet, without picking any one up, while the other 2 buses go the proper route which is the correct one and a 4 wheel riged gets pulled by local plod because the residents complain, are they exempt?
Most of them only apply to goods vehicles.
mrpj:
suffolk gold:
Why can a double decker bus on a works pick up run can go through a 7.5t weight limet, without picking any one up, while the other 2 buses go the proper route which is the correct one and a 4 wheel riged gets pulled by local plod because the residents complain, are they exempt?Most of them only apply to goods vehicles.
Well it aint a picture of a BUS with 7.5t on it, is it?
Steve-o:
mrpj:
suffolk gold:
Why can a double decker bus on a works pick up run can go through a 7.5t weight limet, without picking any one up, while the other 2 buses go the proper route which is the correct one and a 4 wheel riged gets pulled by local plod because the residents complain, are they exempt?Most of them only apply to goods vehicles.
Well it aint a picture of a BUS with 7.5t on it, is it?
Do you understand what the word ‘most’ means?
From memory you’re not allowed to reverse with passengers on. But drivers like him will have reversed many times with passengers on when they’ve gone the wrong way.
I would have replied with " It’s okay, no problem, I won’t be long - 20 minutes maybe" and walked away. 
Stan
I assumed it was something to do with hitting/damaging pedestrians or property.
Why on earth does it only apply when there are passengers aboard?
Does anyone know the answer to my second question?
What is the legallity of telling drivers “You’re not allowed to reverse.”
Surely bus companies can’t expect all other road users to give way to their drivers.
Why should everyone else take the risk of reversing manouveres just to ease their insurance premium?
What if two buses with passengers meet and one needs to reverse 
Does one of them have to make all the passengers get off until he has reversed then tell them to get back on
I didn’t even know buses had a reverse gear, you learn something everyday 
bubsy06:
What if two buses with passengers meet and one needs to reverse
Does one of them have to make all the passengers get off until he has reversed then tell them to get back on
No they all kneel on their seats and face the other way, bus driver does same and puts arms behind his back and uses his heels to control the brake and accelerator pedal and steers so then technically they are going forward. People at back of bus which is now the front just have to relay directions to the driver…
“left a bit, oooooh right a bit, steady left a bit,”
The buses have a reverse gear and the bus driver test is the same as the truck test,reverse into bay and controlled stop before going out on the road.
alamcculloch:
The buses have a reverse gear and the bus driver test is the same as the truck test,reverse into bay and controlled stop before going out on the road.
Some of the Stagecoach buses I used to drive (god that feels good saying that 
) struggled to get in reverse - sometimes it 4/5 attempts 