The lifting of pandemic restrictions and reopening of tourist destinations means passenger transportation companies are once again booking large group multiple coach trips. When organizing these multi-bus moves, it’s important to remember that coaches should avoid following each other in a convoy fashion. The reason is simple: COACH CONVOYS LEAD TO AVOIDABLE CHAIN-REACTION CRASHES.
Convoying, or caravanning, can actually take many forms. For example, it can be a six-vehicle move across state lines, or just a single vehicle following another to the same place to fuel up. Convoy accidents occur because trailing drivers fail to maintain a safe following distance, and they rely on the bus ahead for braking cues. Consequently, these drivers don’t have sufficient time or space to avoid a rear-end collision, they lose control of their vehicle, or, at the very least, they find themselves in a severe braking situation. These incidents often happen during changes in road conditions—traffic, construction, hazards—and can result in damage to multiple vehicles and injuries to a very large number of passengers…YOUR passengers!
To help avoid costly and potentially serious claims involving your customers and your buses, multi-bus moves should not be thought of as convoys, but, instead, as a series of single bus moves from the moment the trip is booked until the coaches return safely to the yard after the trip is completed. Here are some recommendations:
Inform your customer at the time of booking that each coach will depart five to ten minutes apart, operate independently with up to five minutes of separation, and arrive at the destination separately. While the customer may expect the coaches to leave at the same time and follow each other in order to “keep the group together,” there is a BIG difference between keeping a group together within a venue, and getting buses to and from a venue safely. Few destinations can manage large groups at one time for admission, a meal or checking into a hotel anyway. So, coaches arriving several minutes apart actually provides a smoother, more pleasant trip for your passengers, and allows group leaders to better manage their group. Besides, customers will certainly appreciate your concern for the group’s safety and well-being.
Each coach should be viewed by dispatch as a separate bus simply going to the same destination as other company vehicles on the same road. Each vehicle should depart from each location five to ten minutes apart, and have its own trip schedule.
Each driver should carry out the trip independently of the other coaches in the group. That means all drivers must be furnished their coach’s specific trip schedule; be aware of the driving directions, alternate routes, and traffic and weather conditions; and must understand that they are making their own driving decisions to transport passengers from point A to point B. Though the company may designate a “driver in charge” of the move, this in no way should imply that any other driver gives up his/her status as the driver in charge of operating his/her coach. Furthermore, while there may be a need for communication between drivers when the vehicles are parked or during a driving break, no driver should need visual contact of a “sister” coach ahead of it for directions.
Drivers should maintain at least a five-minute following distance between coaches. They should also keep a minimum a six-second following distance from other vehicles on the road—more if conditions are less than ideal—and scan as far ahead as possible for potential hazards.
Lastly, implement a “NO CONVOY” policy in your company. By doing so, and conducting all multi-bus moves as a series of single bus moves, you can avoid potentially serious convoy accident claims and the costly expenses and injuries that occur as a result.
