Passenger · On the Road
Why does passenger-vehicle guidance call for starting and stopping a bus as smoothly as possible, and for waiting before pulling away from a stop?
Explanation
Smooth starts and stops exist to protect riders, who can stumble while boarding or alighting and again under any acceleration or braking, which is why the driver should wait for riders to be seated or braced before pulling away and should make every start and stop gradual. This is the braking concern unique to carrying passengers: in a truck, abrupt braking is a load-security and control problem, while in a bus the unsecured load is people standing in the aisle with nothing holding them but a handhold. 49 CFR 383.117(a)(5) names proper braking procedures as a required knowledge area for the passenger endorsement, but it states no technique and no timing, so the practice here is attributed to the manual. The wrong options all look for a mechanical cause instead of a human one, inventing an interlock side effect, an air-pressure limit on consecutive brake applications, or a federal deceleration cap for buses, none of which exists.
Source: 49 CFR 383.117(a)(5)
Related On the Road questions
- A rider becomes intoxicated and disruptive during a run. What does passenger-vehicle guidance say about putting that rider off the bus?
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