Bus Safety Policy and Procedure

Bus Safety & Compliance > Bus Safety Policy & Procedure

Policy Authorised by Board of Management

Procedure Authorised by Chief Executive Officer

Reviewed: 21 July 2022

Policy

Kyeema Support Services Inc. (Kyeema) complies with the Bus Safety Act (2009), adheres to relevant motor vehicle regulations and provides procedures for the safe use of Kyeema’s buses.

Kyeema is committed to ensuring the health and well-being of staff, participants, visitors, contractors, and the public by providing a safe workplace and safe work practices as far as is reasonably practicable, eliminating hazards that could result in injury and ensuring staff wellbeing through access to an employee assistance program where needed.

Kyeema will:

• Implement and maintain safe systems of work

• Undertake risk management activities to identify, eliminate and/or manage risks

• Provide and maintain safe systems for the use, handling, storage and transportation of plant, equipment and hazardous substances

• Consult with employees to enhance the effectiveness of the OHS Management System, under a framework of continuous quality improvement.

• Provide appropriate OHS training, information, instruction and supervision for all staff and supported employees

• Provide adequate resources, including finances, to facilitate the organisation’s OHS responsibilities;

• Comply with OHS Legislation, Regulations and relevant Australian Standards.

Kyeema’s full statement of OH&S is in the Occupational Health and Safety Policy Statement on the QMS, link below.

All policies and procedures are controlled documents. Policies require authorisation from the Board of Directors and changes to procedures require authorisation by the Chief Executive Officer or delegate.

Scope

These procedures will outline the rights and responsibilities of employees who use a Kyeema-owned bus.

Legislation

Bus Safety Act 2009

Bus Safety Regulations 2020

Procedures

1. General Safety Requirements

1.1 All legislative requirements are applicable to anyone who drives Kyeema’s vehicles e.g. current driver’s licence, display of appropriate plates, compliance with road rules etc.

Any Kyeema employee who has a current Victorian approved driver’s licence may drive a Kyeema bus or standard motor vehicle. A copy of current driver’s licences for all drivers must be held at the Kyeema office

1.2 Drivers are to have zero blood alcohol and drug readings.

Kyeema managers rely on visual and verbal assessments to form a reasonable impression as to whether a person’s behaviour is affected by drugs or alcohol.

Where necessary, a breath test and/or breath analysis may be arranged with the local police.

A person may wish to challenge the decision which prevents them from taking part in Kyeema work due to the belief they are affected by drugs. To do this, the person must be referred to a qualified medical practitioner for drug urine analysis.

1.3 Employees are required to advise their supervisors if taking any medication which may affect performance. The following notice is displayed above the vehicle keys and in the staff handbook:

• Before driving a Kyeema bus/car or any private vehicle transporting participants; all workers are required to notify their manager if taking any medication that may affect their driving performance

1.4 Report any vehicle maintenance issues to the Administration Officers

• Vehicle Maintenance & Defect Register - K:\Admin\Vehicles\Vehicle Maintenance & Defect Register\

1.5 Report any incidents and accidents to the Supports Manager or Administration Officers. Phone On Call and/or Lalor St 5523 5999. If a vehicle is not safe to drive, ensure this is reported as a matter of urgency so it can be removed from the vehicle pool until attended to. Driver of the vehicle to complete:

• Vehicle Incident Form SF-13

Report to police if anyone is injured.

Report category 1,2 or 3 incidents to Transport Safety Victoria (TSV) Hotline 1800 01 151. Refer to Incident Reporting Policy & Procedure for more information.

• a category 1 incident; or (death, serious accident etc)

• a category 2 incident; or (police attend, hospitalised people etc)

• a category 3 incident; (alleged assault, suspected harm etc)

Refer to the Bus Safety Regulations 2020 p.2 for incident definitions.

2. Bus safety workers

Under the definitions of the Bus Safety Act (2009) a driver of the bus is considered to be a bus safety worker.

2.1 Duty of bus safety worker

A bus safety worker must take reasonable measures to ensure the safety of persons who may be affected by their acts or omissions. This includes the caution regarding participants entering and exiting the bus that is expected during good disability support, along with ensuring seatbelts are used appropriately by all occupants.

3. Road safety

3.1 Drivers should consider factors that could impact upon their safety and that of those they are carrying. These include weather conditions, road conditions, traffic and the likelihood of more wildlife crossing the roads in the morning and at dusk.

4. Driver fatigue

4.1 Management and drivers are to be conscious of the potential for driver fatigue when long trips are planned. Risk control measures include such factors as having two drivers, ensuring adequate rest breaks and staying overnight if the return journey is too long to complete in one day or has started early.

4.2 Drivers are to speak to the manager or team leader if their shift entails driving when they believe they are too tired to ensure this is safe.

5. Management Information System

5.1 Kyeema maintains a Bus Management Information System to document any issues relating to the buses, their inspections and maintenance.

Continuous Quality Improvement

Kyeema will strive to continually improve safety performance by:

§ identifying and assessing safety risks

§ putting in place the controls and resources to reduce risks so far as is reasonably practicable

§ making managers and supervisors responsible for implementing the relevant sections of the Management Information System and Maintenance Management System

§ ensuring that all workers are trained in these standards and procedures and are committed to Kyeema’s safety policy and the safety of others

§ monitoring and auditing against this safety policy and compliance with the Management Information System and Maintenance Management System

• QAF-10 Bus Audit Scope Planner

Taking suggestions from the staff about how safety can be improved

Kyeema has identified key safety performance targets to monitor the performance of this organisation, including:

§ injuries

§ defect reports

§ customer complaints and compliments.

Kyeema has a Quality Assurance system underpinned by the following principles:

§ Participant focus

§ Leadership

§ Involvement of participants and staff in identifying improvements

§ A process approach to continual improvement

Kyeema values input from families, participants, the Board and Kyeema staff in the continuous improvement processes.

Use of buses and cars by parties other than Kyeema employees

4.1 Prior authority by a Manager is to be sought if an employee wishes to have any other person, other than a Kyeema participant / participant’s family member in a Kyeema vehicle as a passenger. Permission will only be granted in exceptional circumstances.

4.2 Family members of an employee are not permitted to drive the Kyeema buses or cars except in an emergency, and Kyeema will not be held responsible where an employee’s family member is responsible for the vehicle when an accident or damage occurs.

4.3 As a general rule, Kyeema’s buses are not available for use by other parties. But this may occur by arrangement with the CEO or delegate who will look at each request on its own merit, prioritising community groups over individuals and ensuring that all legislative requirements are satisfied. Buses are then to be returned in clean condition.

Related Policies, Procedures and Documents:

Occupational Health and Safety Policy Statement

Vehicle Maintenance and Defect Register - K:\Admin\Vehicles\Vehicle Maintenance & Defect Register\

Bus Management Information System for Buses is saved under K:\Admin\Vehicles

Bus Audit Scope Planner QAF-10

Bus Safety Information Communication Procedure

Risk Management Framework & Procedure

Incident Reporting Policy & Procedure

Emergency Response Plan SF-62

Vehicle Incident Form SF-13

Bus Driver Induction Record BSF-03

Bus Daily Pre-Trip Check Form BSF-04