Date Approved: August 26 2015
Date Reviewed/Amended: December 10 2020
Winter Driving Considerations
The Province of BC provides that winter driving months are from October 1 to April 30. Some years the April 30 date has been extended into May. The Board of Education has passed a motion requiring professional drivers for highway trips during the winter driving months.
A professional driver is someone with a Class 1 or Class 2 license and appropriate experience, as approved by the Secretary-Treasurer.
For the purpose of this regulation, any trips going past Prudhomme Lake Provincial Park will require professional drivers.
Low Risk (Local) Field Trips
1. A class may walk together on a field trip when time allows and providing appropriate supervision is available, considering the age of the students.
2. Private vehicles may be used if the vehicles are in good working order, all passengers use seat belts (and booster seats when necessary), the designed seating capacity is not exceeded and there are no more than ten people in the vehicle, including the driver. Each volunteer driver should complete the Volunteer Driver Application Form (as per Regulation 1610-20). Note: Minimum Third Party Liability Insurance in the amount of $2,000,000.00 is required.
Transportation by commercial bus is encouraged when funds are available.
Medium and High Risk (Out of Town) Field Trips
1. Commercial transportation (Bus, Train or Air) is expected.
2. Use of alternate transportation requires approval of the Superintendent. If the use of private vehicles is approved, the requirements for private vehicles set out in #2 for Low Risk Field Trips apply.
When students travel by different means as participants in the same event and a cost to students is involved, it is expected that the travel costs will be pooled and shared equitably among the participants. For example if some students travel using Air Miles tickets, the cost of those tickets must be included in trip costs and all students will pay the same average cost.
Use of Electronic Devices
Supervisors must ensure that passengers are not using electronic devices in such a way as to distract the vehicle driver.
Use of District Field Trip Bus
This is a reminder of the protocol required to use the School District’s bus for curricular or extra curricular travel. This bus is licensed to transport 20 passengers and one driver.
School District employees who wish to drive this bus must complete the following criteria, before they will be permitted to drive it:
1. Obtain approval from the school principal.
2. Be in possession of a Class 1,2 or 4 driver’s license and provide a copy to the School Board Office.
3. Obtain a current driver’s abstract from the Motor Vehicles Branch which will indicate that you have no driving offences and provide a copy to the School Board Office.
4. This is a diesel bus and is slightly different to operate from gasoline fueled buses, so before you use it for the first time, please contact either Dave Salyn or James Warburton for a quick run-through.
Once the driver has completed the above steps, his/her name will be added to the approved bus driver list. Please use the following procedures to book the bus:
1. The principal or vice-principal will contact an Executive Assistant at the School Board Office. To check availability and make the booking. A confirmation email and calendar invite will be issued upon booking.
2. The bus key will be available at the Booth Building.
3. Each driver must complete and sign a Trip Record/Pre-Trip Inspection Report and submit it to the Booth Building at the end of the trip. This form can be picked up when you pick up the bus key.
4. All bus inspection deficiencies must be reported immediately to
James Warburton, Director of Operations.
5. If the bus does not pass the Pre-Trip Inspection Report it will not be used until deficiencies are corrected.
7. No eating or drinking on the bus. The bus must be clean when you are finished with it.
8. The driver will refuel with diesel fuel after each use so that it is ready for the next user. Please ensure if you booked the driver through maintenance that the driver is provided with a credit card for refueling the bus after each use and provide a code for wages to Cecilia. Record the fueling information on the Trip Record/Pre-Trip Inspection Report.
9. Please return bus to Booth building or make arrangements with the next driver where to leave it. The School Board Office will have the booking information. If the Booth building is closed when you want to return the bus, please ensure that you drop the keys and trip inspection form in the mail slot.
10. Your club/team, etc., will be charged $25.00 per day plus the current rate per kilometer for each booking.
11. A School Bus Mileage form will be issued following the use of the bus.
NOTE: The field trip bus serves as the back-up to the district’s busses for students with special needs. A booking for the field trip bus is subject to cancellation if one of the busses for students with special needs is out of service.
REFERENCES
1410 - Policy - District Code of Conduct and Anti-Racism Policy
1610 - Policy - Field Trip Policy
1610-10 - Regulation - Field Trip Approval and Permissions Regulation
5310-10 - Regulation - Volunteers in Schools
1610-12 - Regulation - Field Trip Supervision Regulation
1610-13 - Regulation - Field Trip Risk Management Regulation
1610-14 - Regulation - Field Trip - Unescorted Travel Regulation
1610-15 - Regulation - Field Trip - Budget Regulation
1610-20A - FORM - Field Trip Approval - Application Form
1610-30A - FORM - Field Trip - Consent Form
1610-35A - FORM - Field Trip - Information Form
1610-40A - FORM - Field Trip - High Risk Consent Form
5310-20A - - Volunteer Driver Information and Authorization Form
3110-10 - - School Bus and Ferry Safety Regulation