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Transport Policy

Transportation is a great tool to allow for young persons to participate in a variety of activities that are essential for their skill development. Without a transportation policy, young persons could be missing out on valuable opportunities that would be limited, hindering the overall growth and development of the young scouts. This policy is also important to keep leaders confident while keeping safety at the highest priority.

Legal

It is the driver’s legal responsibility to

  • Ensure that all relevant insurance is in place that is suitable to cover all passengers
  • Drive responsibly and in accordance with the Highway Act 1980
  • Meet legislative requirements set out by the Road Traffic Act 1988
  • Be familiar with the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licence) Regulations 1999

Group Policy

8th Macclesfield policy on transporting young people and other adults

  • The driver should always feel comfortable taking on the driving responsibility and must never feel pressured into taking on the responsibility
  • Clean (No points) Full Category driving license relevant to vehicle.
  • Ideally, a minimum of 2 years experience.
  • The driver should have access the most recent Risk Assessment
  • Have relevant permits if required
  • Never take private payments for transport of Scouts members

Cars – 2, 3 or 4 Passengers

An easy way to transport other young persons if you are already going in that direction or if this is deemed to be the safest way to transport to/from or in between activities.

  • You are not allowed to be alone in a car with a young person of whom you are not a parent of
    • Transporting your child and a friend or two if heading in that direction
    • A group of young persons collected and dropped off at the same time. for example, going to camp or transport between camp and activities. You must never be alone with a young person in the car.
  • Full Category B licence with no points.
  • Obtain permission in writing (email, sms) from parents and establish pick-up and drop-off points with estimate times
    • Include a link to our digital risk assessment in messages
    • Familiarise your self with the risk assessment
    • Follow POR and Yellow Safeguarding card
  • Short trips up to 30 minutes
    • For trips longer than this, please consult with your GLV
  • Expenses must not be claimed for Social and Domestic trips

Minibus – Not Exceeding 3.5Tonne

A cost-effective way to transport up to 16 passengers (in reality, this weight class has a maximum of 14 or 15 passengers) – The organisation has a permit for minibuses that allows us to split expenses between members, as long as it is not for profit. Driving a minibus is significantly different from driving a car.

A minibus is not just larger, longer, wider and heavier than a car, its steering, cornering and braking characteristics are markedly different. You should only drive a Minibus if you feel comfortable and have experience with driving larger vehicles.

  • You are only allowed to transport members of Scout organisation, such as
    • Beavers, Cubs, Scouts
    • Leaders, Assistant Leader, Group Leaders, Trustees
    • Occasional helping adults that volunteer time at the group
  • You must not transport members of the public
  • Section 19 Permit issued to 8th Macclesfield Scouts Group
    • You must carry the original copy with you while driving
    • This allows us to split travel expenses up as long as it does not generate profits
  • Clean and Full Category B Licence with no points, and
    • Driver to comply with Regulation 7 (Competence to drive classes of vehicle: special cases) Paragraph 6 of Driving Licence Regulations 1999 – A driver with Cat B license using the special case for driving a Class D vehicle …
      • Vehicle must not exceed 3.5Tonne MAM (Gross Vehicle Weight)
      • No more than 16 Passengers + Driver
      • Must hold license for at least 2 years
      • Must not tow a trailer
      • And must be operated for a non-profit organisation (as pointed out in above points)
  • Written (by email) from hirer that Insurance Policy covers drivers with Category B Licence
  • The driver must feel confident driving this type of vehicle
    • For trips longer than 1 hour, try and include another competent driver for support if needed
    • For trips longer than 2 hours you must have another competent driver in case of emergency
    • Trips exceeding 4 hour should be avoided.
    • No international travel- We do not have a policy for that.

MiDAS Training can help you increase your confidence but it is not a cost that 8th Macclesfield will reimburse. If we find that using a minibus is more frequently we can review MiDAS training

Trip Pack for Minibuses or trips longer than 30 minutes

  • Consent from parents
  • Emergency Contact numbers
  • Travel plan
    • Ideally, single stop points for all young persons at the same time.
    • Pick Up Point and estimate time
    • Drop Off point and estimated time
    • If available, GPS shared with parents of children, otherwise group messaging with updates
    • A link to our digital risk assessment for travel
  • Emergency procedure in case of accident or break down
    • How to get children back safely
    • Inform the hirer of vehicle problems

Minibus – Exceeding 3.5Tonne

  • Clean and Full Category D1 Licence with no points
  • Valid CPC Certification – Unless you have a D1 (101)
  • 16 Passengers maximum

Minibus Equipment

The minibus should be equipped with:

  • A first aid kit
  • A fire extinguisher
  • A de-icer, scraper & squeegee
  • Warning triangle
  • Spare bulb kit
  • Dust pan & brush
  • Sweeping brush
  • Interior cleaning cloths & cleaner
  • Waste bags
  • Torch
  • High visibility waistcoats

Accident procedure

  • Insurance details should be swapped with the third party as soon as
    possible. However, NO LIABILITY should be admitted
  • Where safe and reasonable to do so, passengers should be removed from the
    vehicle and taken to a safe area away from accident site, where they should be fully
    supervised. Adults are to wear Hi-Viz waistcoats/jacket whilst vehicle is parked at the
    roadside or awaiting any breakdown assistance
  • A visual check of the vehicle should be undertaken before the journey resumes
  • If the vehicle is not roadworthy the driver should contact the Breakdown Service.
    • Driver or Leader to start emergency procedure outlined in trip pack
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