MiDAS Minibus Driver Awareness Scheme

MiDAS is the Minibus Driver Awareness scheme, overseen by the Community Transport Association U.K. (CTA) which promotes a nationally recognised standard for the assessment and training of minibus drivers. It is a membership based scheme that is designed to enhance safe minibus driving standards and promote the safer operation of minibuses, currently there are over 5,000 member organisations throughout the UK.

Benefits of the MiDAS Scheme for Organisations & Individuals

• Enhanced passenger safety & confidence
• Raised driver & staff awareness of their responsibilities toward their passengers & public
• Potential reduced insurance premiums as many minibus insurance companies recognise the scheme
• Reduced whole life vehicle costs through enhanced ECO driver training
• Single nationally recognised certificates
• Improved public image for organisations, schools & universities

MiDAS Driver Awareness & Assessment Training

Dial-a-Journey can provide training advice and guidance on the following courses throughout Forth Valley. You can attend our premises for training purposes.

Depending upon the course required, training can normally be provided with a lead time of around 10 working days, or sooner if required.

We can provide information and deliver the following training programmes throughout Forth Valley.

Front Line Driver MiDAS Courses:

• MiDAS Standard Training
• MiDAS Accessible Training
• MiDAS Standard Refresher Training
• MiDAS Accessible Refresher Training

Definition of a Minibus

The legal definition of a minibus is a motor vehicle that has been constructed or adapted to carry between 9 and 16 passengers in addition to the driver. Minibuses are utilised by many organisations in the private & corporate sector as an essential mode of transport for staff and clients.

The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986

Operating a Minibus – Please Read Important Notes:

With many schools and voluntary organisations relaying on the goodwill of employees or volunteers to drive minibuses for social outings and events, it can be difficult to understand the rules around who can and can’t get behind the wheel as this can have implications on insurance.

Please read this document carefully if you have any doubts:  PSV Operator Licensing Guide.

Legislation

It is an offence under road traffic law to cause, or permit, a minibus to be driven on the road when its condition, or the manner in which it is used, may cause danger to passengers in the minibus or to other road users. Operators of minibuses must comply with relevant legislation, advice in the Highway Code, and take all other reasonable measures to protect the driver, the passengers and other road users from the risk of injury.

Health & Safety

Under the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999, organisations have responsibility to manage health and safety effectively. Anyone who operates a minibus to carry passengers has a duty to take all reasonable care and precautions and to ensure that it is operated safely. Health & Safety guidelines state that “health and safety law applies to on-the-road work activities and the risks should be effectively managed within a health and safety system.” – Section 19 & 22 Permits

Important Please Read:

It is essential that an organisation that intends to permit their employees or volunteers to driver their minibuses understands the legislation relating to driving minibuses.

Differences exist between organisations that hold charitable status and those that are commercial in nature. It is important that an organisation understands what legislation they have to fulfil for their staff to be able to drive their minibuses.

Category D1 101 entitlement:

Minibus drivers who passed their car driving test before 1st January 1997 will normally have a D1(101) – minibus, not for hire or reward – entitlement on their licence. This will remain on the licence until it expires when the driver reaches 70 years old or unless removed by DVLA, usually for medical reasons. Even though the licence restriction says ‘not for hire or reward’ these licence holders can drive a minibus operated under a section 19 / 10B permit without additional conditions. Drivers who hold a category D1 101 on their driving licence can be paid directly to drive a minibus or volunteer to drive it.

Category B entitlement:

Drivers who passed their driving test from 1 January 1997 were not granted the D1 101 entitlement on their licence and they will only have a B entitlement. If a driver with only a category B entitlement can comply with all of the following conditions they may drive, on behalf of a non-commercial body for social purposes but not for hire or reward, if they:

• are the holder of a full licence authorising the driving of vehicles in category B;
• have held that licence for an aggregate period of not less than 2 years;
• are aged 21 or over,
• and receive no payment or consideration for so doing, other than out-of-pocket expenses;
• drive a vehicle included in sub-category D1 which has no trailer attached and has a maximum authorised mass-
• not exceeding 3,500kg, excluding any part of that weight which is attributable to specialised equipment intended for the carriage of disabled passengers,
• and not exceeding 4,250kg otherwise.

The two conditions that cause most problems are the vehicle weight restriction and not being able to pay drivers. The fourth bullet point above is normally interpreted as meaning that the driver is a volunteer. However, there is a legal opinion that where an employee does not have driving as part of their job description and they receive no more pay as a result of their driving duties; they could be considered to be meeting the condition set out above. This opinion has not been tested in a court but has been accepted within the voluntary sector. 

The additional 750kg weight attributed to ‘specialised equipment’ is the maximum allowance permitted to directly offset the additional weight of any ‘specialised equipment’ which is intended for the carriage of disabled passengers, therefore, any allowance claimed over the 3,500kg limit must be attributed to this equipment. The gov.uk website provides an example of ‘specialised equipment’ as being a ramp however, operators and drivers must ensure that any ‘specialised equipment’ stays on the minibus for this concession to apply, if there is no ‘specialist equipment’ on the minibus then the Maximum Authorised Mass cannot exceed 3,500kg.

Maximum Authorised Mass

Both operators and drivers need to take care with the maximum authorised mass of any vehicle they are operating or driving. The Maximum Authorised Mass, or Gross Vehicle Weight as it is also known, is the maximum carrying capacity of the vehicle; this is the vehicle when it is full of diesel along with all the passengers and driver. It may be possible to overload a vehicle where heavy wheelchairs are carried or where the payload is small. For more information please see our Advice Note on Minibuses and Overloading available in the Registered Users area of the Advice and Information section. Where any of the above conditions cannot be met, the driver will need to pass a second driving test in a minibus including, medical and theory, hazard perception and practical tests. This will gain them a full PCV D1 entitlement.