Broadly the driver induction program will take into account numerous processes and documents and thereby ensure effective risk management of the bus services. The induction program will aim at substantiating the fact that the drivers who are becoming a part of the organization are well aware about the roles and responsibilities they are required to discharge. Furthermore, this induction program will also ensure that the new drivers acquire all the required skills and competencies for carrying out their works effectively and efficiently (Knipling, Hickman and Bergoffen, 2003). On an added notion, the induction program will also contribute towards enhancing the performance of the drivers, developing a proper sense of responsibility for the purpose of enriching the organizational culture and giving rise to a fruitful relationship between the coworkers. The drivers will be provided with an orientation kit which will include the organizational chart of the company, overview of the key terminologies utilized within the industry, brief of benefits and perks along with the other important documents as well. The entire induction program will be conducted by the supervisor with the effective support of the human resource team. The design of the induction program is so designed that it will last for 10 days and in each day a session of one hour will be held. The sessions will be one on one where the new drivers will be provided with the assistance of an experienced driver who will help the new driver to develop an understanding about how the different things are maintained. The session will be emphasizing over the topics mentioned as below,

Policy Ensuring Safety, Duties regarding Safety, Job Description, Job Responsibilities, Necessity of Medical Fitness, Drugs and Alcohol Management, Daily Inspections, Emergency and Security Processes along with the Driver Induction Program Checklist.

Checklist of Driver Induction Program

The documentation that will be maintained in the Management Information Systems will certainly ensure the fact that each of the new drivers are trained properly, possesses driving license and its capable of discharging their core roles and responsibilities in an effective and efficient manner. The key regulatory components will also be amalgamated as well, which will concentrate over the educational status of the drivers, their core competencies and the performance records during the brief tenure of the training procedure.

Stage 2:

Question 2: Vehicle Fitness

Part 1:

Under the law of Road Safety Act (RSA) 1986, there is a general duty that specifies all the parties involved in the chain of responsibility should take eminent steps to ensure that the heavy vehicle drivers are not fatigued. This includes the drivers must stop driving whenever they do not feel well or feel tired. The schedulers and operators must plan the process in way which will include when the drivers will rest. Planning that does not include driver’s rest is illegal and violates the legal framework (Feyer, Williamson and Friswell, 1997). More specifically, the basic aim of the chain of responsibility framework is to ensure that the people who are responsible for conduct should look after the regulations of driving hour and the schedules of the every driver who are associated with the company.

Part 2:

The following activities can be characterized as the work tome of the driver of fatigue regulated heavy vehicle. The activities will include the

1. The drivers must get ample sleep before they start driving any vehicle. This activity specify that the drivers should certainly sleep while they feel weak or drowsy. Furthermore, the drivers should always take a sound sleep for 6 hours so as to avoid any unintentional potential accident (Wills, Watson and Biggs, 2006).

2. Another activity of the work time is maintaining a healthy diet of the drivers. Skipping meals frequently and eating on irregular intervals may give rise to fatigue. Furthermore, it is also advised that the drivers should have light snacks before sleep which help them in maintaining a good memory and gain consciousness in a proper way.

3. Whenever the driver feels drowsy taking a quick nap in gaining awareness quickly. However, these naps should not exceed the time limit of 10 to 45 minutes. There are substantial researches which have supported the fact that taking a quick nap helps in enhancing the energy levels of the human body.

Part 3:

As specified in the Road Safety Act of 1986, any driver should certainly stop driving a fatigue regulated heavy vehicle whenever they feel drowsy. This law also enacts a framework which states that it is the sole responsibility of the concerned personnel of the chain to make it sure that the drivers do not get fatigued (Nhvr. 2018). There are three major breakthrough steps which have been taken by the authorities of the heavy vehicle national law, these are the standard hours, advanced and basic fatigue management. A schedule of driving shift for the drivers can be explained with the help of the following sample.

Stage 2: The work diary should certainly be maintained with the drivers whenever they are working beyond a radius of 100 km from the base station. It is quintessential for the drivers to maintain a record of their working and recess hours along with any relevant information pertaining to the vehicle they are driving. At the same point time maintaining a track record of working dates and hours will also be helpful as the record keepers do not have access to these information. It is also essential to maintain these records for the coming three years since creation and should certainly be accessible to the authorized personnel only.

Question 3: Vehicle Fitness

Part 1:

As it has been pointed out by the Bus Safety Regulations of 2010, it is crucial to provide a safe operations of bus services through the introduction of obligations pertaining to drug and alcohol management. As an accredited operator for drug and alcohol management for the business and processes the general duties can be outlined as follows,

A brief discussion with bus safety drivers regarding the contents which will be included in the drug and alcohol policy of the organization.
A drug and alcohol management policy will be developed accordingly. It will be ensured that no driver should possess alcohol or drugs in their blood streams while driving or before commencing the drive (Nhvr, 2018a).
In order to ensure that the drivers are complying with the stipulated framework a testing process will also be enacted that would test for the presence of drugs and alcohol in the bloodstream. There must be zero percent alcohol in the bloodstreams of the drivers.

Part 2:

The drug and alcohol management policy will be incorporated in the management information system. The policy will be developed, enacted and maintained after consulting briefly with the bus drivers.

Stage 2:

Question 4: Safe Operations

Part 1:

On the part of the bus operators it is quintessential to take the responsibility of ensuring thee buses are being serviced at a regular interval. This will ensure travel safety and unwanted loss of time. As per the Bus Safety Regulations Act of 2010, every accredited operator should ensure that buses are maintained as per the requirement (Nhvr, 2018a). The major elements which will be incorporated within the Maintenance Management Systems are can be outlined as follows,

1. In order to depict the compliance an organizational chart will be developed where the duties and responsibilities of every drivers will be mentioned. On an added notion, a register will be maintained which will keep track of the inspection data of the vehicles.

2. The documentations of the tables will be performed in a way so that the tables essentially contain the qualification and competencies of the individual drivers.

3. Another register will be maintained for maintaining the records of the buses. The registration, manufacturer details along with all other details. These information will be assessed on regular interval to verify the compliance.

4. The buses will be inspected at a regular interval. A person will also be responsible for a thorough checking of the buses, right before the trip.

Part 2:

A pre-trip inspection helps in determining any problem which may exist in the vehicle right before the commencement of the trip. There are various factors which are needed to be checked during the pre-trip inspection.

Stage 2:

Question 5: Safe Operations

Part 1:

The bus drivers may often encounter a situation that may cause distraction. Erratic behavior of passengers may impose risk of operations of the bus and give rise to a situation which will distract the drivers. However, it is important that the bus services control the emergence of unsafe behaviors which could be difficult to manage.

Part 2:

The bus service providers can take a number actions in order to deal with the adverse situations which may arise. A risk assessment program can be carried out in order to successfully identify the key risks that may arise because different events such as smoking, gambling or drinking. This will help in designing specific frameworks so as to manage different difficult situations.

References

Feyer, A.M., Williamson, A. and Friswell, R. 1997. Balancing work and rest to combat driver fatigue: an investigation of two-up driving in Australia. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 29(4), pp.541-553.

Knipling, R.R., Hickman, J.S. and Bergoffen, G. 2003. Effective commercial truck and bus safety management techniques (Vol. 1). Transportation Research Board.

Nhvr. 2018. Work and rest requirements. https://www.nhvr.gov.au/safety-accreditation-compliance/fatigue-management/work-and-rest-requirements

Nhvr. 2018a. Work diary. https://www.nhvr.gov.au/safety-accreditation-compliance/fatigue-management/work-diary

Wills, A.R., Watson, B. and Biggs, H.C. 2006. Comparing safety climate factors as predictors of work-related driving behavior. Journal of safety research, 37(4), pp.375-383.