The safety of your buss and passengers is certainly most at risk while the vehicle is on the move. Nevertheless, you should not fail to recognize the safety concerns that may arise when your vehicle is at rest - when it is parked.
The reassuring thing is that you on you own can have a big effect on the safety and security of your passengers, your vehicle, and yourself with the choices that you make about parking.
This issue of SAFETY ON THE MOVE looks at some practical tips that can help you to make safety-conscious choices about parking.
Your first decision might be the selection of where you make your stop - rest area, hotel, eating establishment, whatever. When possible, you want to stop at places that appear:
- Well-patronized: doing business, hopefully frequented by other buses.
- Well-illuminated: With plenty of lighting so pedestrians and motorists cans see and be seen.
- Well-secured: With indications - such as posted notices - that parking lots are patrolled and/or under camera surveillance.
On the other hand, the choice of where you stop may not be up to you - that is, it may be determined by established routes and schedules.
In that case, you can turn your attention to where you drop off your passengers, and where you park your bus.
Desirable discharge points could well be at established curb-side unloading areas. But not all facilities have them - meaning that your parking spot also becomes your drop-off and reload location. And this makes your choice of where to par a safety concern for you and your passengers. Their biggest safety threat probably is posed by motor vehicles moving through the parking lot. To help protect your passengers:
- Try to reduce their exposure to motor vehicles.
- Avoid parking in high-traffic areas of the lot.
- Minimize the number of traffic lanes your passengers must cross in walking from or to the bus.
- Pick a parking spot that's well-lighted - including illumination for the entire area between the bus and the facility to which passengers are walking. Good lighting helps with getting on and off the bus. It also allows your passengers to see - and be seen by - motorists driving through the lot.
- Steer clear of darkened, obscured, out-of-the-way parking locations.
- Avoid, where possible, parking your bus at "end-of-row" positions. These locations pose an increased risk of property damage from "cornering" traffic.
One more point: Always secure your vehicle before leaving it unattended. When you return to the bus, do a quick visual inspection of both the exterior and interior of your bus, preferably before passengers re-board.