Compliance Information - Teachers Driving Minibuses

The question of the driver licence category required for people driving minibuses can be a complex one particularly in relation to teachers, employed by the Children's Service Authority driving such a vehicle. This is exacerbated by the fact that the entitlements obtained on passing a car test significantly changed in January 1997.

 

 

State school minibuses should be operated under a Section 19 permit. This is a permit granted under Section 19 of the Transport Act 1985 allowing non profit making organisations to accept payment (from whatever source) for providing transport to the people the organisation serves, without the need to obtain a PSV Operators Licence.

 

Car Tests Taken Prior to January 1997

Drivers who passed their car test prior to January 1 1997 were granted D1 entitlement automatically. This carried a category restriction of 101, described as "not for hire and reward". Those passing since 1996 get no such entitlement.

 

Provided the vehicle has a Section 19 permit, a D1 licence with a category restriction 101 is valid. This has been confirmed by DVLA and is quoted in their information leaflet INF28- "Drivers who first held a licence to drive cars prior to 1 January 1997 will continue to be able to drive their minibuses under the Permit Schemes provided their entitlement to drive minibuses (category D1- not for hire or reward) remains in force." This will apply to journeys undertaken on behalf of the school both inside and outside school hours.

 

Drivers who passed their car test on or after 1 January 1997 are not granted a D1 entitlement.

Section 7 of the Motor Vehicles  (Driver Licences) Regulations 1997 contains a concession that allows car drivers to drive minibuses under strict conditions. These are that licence holders:

 

Teachers who wish to drive minibuses on a category B license must comply with ALL of the conditions above. However, it is often the final condition requiring that the driver receive no consideration for driving that is at the heart of the difficulty in interpretation when dealing with teachers.

 

Clearly teachers driving minibuses during school hours are receiving payment and therefore do not meet this final condition and would require a D1 entitlement.

 

Whether this concession would allow teachers to drive pupils in a minibus after school hours on the grounds that this becomes a voluntary activity, and no direct payment or allowance is received, is the pertinent question.

 

 

Ultimately legislation can only be interpreted by a court of law. The FTA is not aware of any significant case law clarifying this issue. In the absence of this we always advise caution when claiming concessions. Claiming a concession carries with it the risk of prosecution particularly where the safety of pupils and other road users is concerned. We believe it may prove difficult to argue that a teacher driving pupils to a school activity, even outside normal school hours, renders then a volunteer. A court may decide that the activities are directly related to their careers (where consideration may also include salaried pay or increased chances of promotion) regardless of whether the teacher chose to participate. Therefore we advise that such drivers should have at least a D1 (with or without a 101 restriction) on their licence if the authority and the teacher wishes to avoid the risk of prosecution. For holders of category B licences this would involve a medical on application, a theory test and a practical driving test.