Emergency Response
This domain tests what you do in the first few minutes of an accident, breakdown, fire or medical emergency, when your decisions shape the outcome. It also tests the legal duties that attach to an accident.
At an accident
- Stop the vehicle immediately and switch off the engine.
- Switch on hazard lights and place a warning triangle behind the vehicle at the distance prescribed in the rules to warn approaching traffic.
- Call the emergency number (112) and ambulance (108) and give the exact location and number of casualties.
- Render first aid within your training; do not move a casualty with a suspected spinal injury unless there is immediate danger such as fire.
- Report the accident to the nearest police station as soon as possible; the driver is legally bound to do so, and the conductor assists and records details.
- Note names of witnesses, vehicle numbers and the time.
Good Samaritan protection
A person who renders emergency care to a road accident victim in good faith is protected from civil and criminal liability; you are not obliged to disclose your identity, and hospitals cannot refuse emergency treatment.
Other emergencies
- Breakdown: move off the carriageway if possible and evacuate passengers to a safe place away from traffic.
- Unruly passenger: stop the bus in a safe place, do not grapple, and call police.
- Lost child or harassment complaint: keep the person safe, inform the control room, and stop at the next safe point.
Worked example
A passenger collapses and is not breathing normally. Reasoning: do not simply seat them; lay them flat, check the airway, begin chest compressions at 100–120 per minute while an ambulance is called, and have the driver divert to the nearest hospital only if that is faster.
Traps that cost marks
Driving on after a minor collision; moving a suspected spinal casualty; and failing to place a warning triangle.