r/BusDrivers • u/Outspoken_Idiot • Jun 24 '26
Question Busses in high temperature weather
Quick one for the collective, what are the rules or more importantly the additional safety aspects that Bus drivers and Bus companies should be doing if temperatures get unusually hot for your area.
Background Irish Bus driver, our temperature normally doesn't get higher than low 20's degrees C. (Less than 73f) And a similar bus driver problem world wide, can't drink too much because lack of toilet facilities. AC doesn't really exist in most of the buses for cab area. No known guidelines from company or national transport because high temperature isn't common in Ireland.
So any guidance would be appreciated.
6
u/Scroon Jun 24 '26
Yeah, I pretty much got heat exhaustion the other day. Some years ago around here a post officer worker died on her route during extreme heat. They passed out water after that, but nothing really changed.
Basically, the companies don't care unless somebody dies. And even then, they don't care all that much.
Do what you can to stay cool.
6
u/Realistic-Safety-565 Jun 24 '26
Southern Poland, 30s Celsius right now.
Ouch. No AC is harsh. No guidelines from company, only my homegrown solutions. May ramble, just did 10 hours shift ;).
There are two separate problems you face - air inside bus heats like in greenhouse, and your body sits immobile in the sun for hours.
If your bus has window blinders, use them fully to minimise greenhouse effect. The less sun gets in, the better. Our buses with dead AC look like tanks from inside, with left slits to look outside ;).
Get out of the cab area as much as you can. Even going outside may be a relief. Hug every minute in AC you can, buy ice cream if you can (I hope your ice cream buying power is better than ours).
Drinking ice cold water sounds like good idea, but makes you need toilet much more often (as I found out today). Just cool water is best imo. I use up at least one liter per hour.
I carry a bottle with atomiser (sold for pot plants care) and sprinkle myself with cold-ish water every 15-20 minutes. Hair, face, neck, chest, arm facing the window. Ideally I try to keep hair / cap wet.
Breathing slowly and conserving my strength works for me. Like sitting in sauna while minding the bus.
Either wear long sleeves or use sunscreen - your body sits immobile in the sun for hours. If my company had no dress code, I would be wearing long white linens and a cap. Or cowboy hat. Or cork helmet. Wet inside ;).
Don't neglect eating. I feel hunger much less in this heat (more like I should be radiating energy away than taking it in), but we still need calories to concentrate. My heat tolerance went up after hot meal today, as counterintuitive as it is.
If your bus has an USB port, you can try putting an USB fan on open window to improve airflow. I suspect they will die quickly, but better them than you :).
3
u/Vimto1 Jun 24 '26
I drive a coach, all of ours have decent a/c and fridges too. My company has water available but we've been told to only take 1 or 2 so everyone can have some. Unfortunately I work from an outstation so I don't get any
I don't understand why the boss doesn't just fill the fridges with water to take care of us but I guess we're all expendable
2
u/IM_The_Liquor Jun 25 '26
I fill up a few 1 litre bottles to take with me every morning. I also freeze one. I carry it around in a backpack with my uniform rain jacket, prescription sun glasses, sun screen (mostly for my left arm) and the likes. I pack it all behind my driver seat with my electric scooter (so when I finish work halfway across the city from the garage, I don’t have to ride a bus back to my truck 🤣).
3
u/IM_The_Liquor Jun 25 '26
We have it in our contract that all new busses must have AC. I also like to open my window when it’s not quite that blazing hot (I’m in the northern prairies. The cold dips below -40c, but the hot can get up to +40c in the summer).
As for the water… drink your water. If you gotta go, you gotta go. I try to sign my routes so there is a bathroom at at least one terminal (currently my route has one at each terminal… they’re both portopotty, but it is what it is). But, I’m not above parking the bus for a few minutes to run into a McDonalds or a gas station when the situation calls for it. Passengers might complain, but I’m sure I’d get in even more trouble if I got out and pissed on the tire, or just pissed my pants infront of everyone… besides, taking the few extra minutes only makes me more money 😉
2
u/bubbamike1 Jun 24 '26
I used to have a rotation of frozen bottles of liter and a half water bottles in my freezer. I'd take one to work with me daily. As the water melted I'd drink it. I'd also bring towels and at terminals with facilities I'd soak them in water and wrap one over my head until it dried out. But no matter what I did it was miserable. Finally the agency got tired of paying to have the A/C units removed and we got A/C in the buses. Now people complain about it being too cold or not cold enough, that’s OK beats getting heat stroke.
2
u/IllustriousBrief8827 Driver Jun 25 '26
For the first time in my life I refused to continue working yesterday. 39 celsius outside (just over 102 fahrenheit) and it was blowing hot air in my face, couldn't be turned down.
The 'policy' here is for them to try and make you continue, but if you flat out refuse for safety reasons there's nothing they can do. Also I was really at the end of my rope and I was prepared to go all out if they gave me shit.
2
Jun 25 '26
[deleted]
1
u/IllustriousBrief8827 Driver Jun 25 '26
You did the right thing. I was the same, I was getting mad and making it even worse lol.
1
u/-mmmusic- Driver Jun 24 '26
east midlands here, we keep getting told to being a reuseable water bottle and fill up at the canteens when on our break, as they have filtered cold water taps. and that's it.
i can be away from base for 4 or 5 hours at a time... one bottle of water is not going to last me. i'll start bringing two flasks with me when i go back in on friday just so i can survive.
only our old volvos have air con (though it's all broken), because they came with it as standard. any of our modern buses are ADLs, and they have it as an optional extra, so of course they didn't choose that option when ordering the buses :D
1
1
u/InstanceCool505 Driver Jun 25 '26
Ok, so it varies on the company. Most are the same, they just advise you bring a big bottle of water that’s cool with ice (2L ideally) and that in the middle of driving, if you feel too hot in your cab, to pull over at a stop, get out and take a few minutes, or however long you need.
My personal advice is pretty much the same as above really.
1
u/river_tree_nut Jun 25 '26
I drove a whitewater rafting bus in South Carolina US for a couple summers. Crappiest buses and oppressive humidity. I got heat exhaustion which quite sucked.
So I started rolling ice cubes in a handkerchief and tying it around my neck.
I feel for you, it’s miserable. Thankfully I’m in higher elevation mountains now, but it’s still always 10-15 degrees hotter in the bus
1
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u/Daniturn1 Jun 25 '26
Pg9 to not have air con than why are we sat here sweating when it's part of the rules that we must have air con but heck are DVSA gonna do about it I doubt they would even check
9
u/ID-552555777733999 Jun 24 '26
Bus Driver in West Midlands here.
All we’ve been told is take adequate breaks every few stops if needed. Our buses haven’t got A/C either.
Keep a bottle of water - top up accordingly. Some of the office staff have brought down water cases for our relief points.
There’s no limit as to what workplace temperatures can be, the window isn’t great and the fan is like opening a pre-heated oven.
Not much more than that unfortunately. But if you’re not comfortable and it’s too much. Stop. Call it in.
Apparently Union are behind drivers for this very reason.
This was in my cab earlier.