D-Day

I went ‘live’ yesterday (Tuesday). Besides being the 1st day of driving (without supervision). There were 2 other ‘firsts’.

I have my first bus breakdown. When close to coming to the end of a schedules service, the engine coolant warning light started coming on when the bus was stopped (and the engine idling). When I reached the end of the route (at Circular Quay) I notified the Radio Control of this. I told them the engine temperature gauge was showing only 70 degrees. They told me to do the next service (out to Chiswick) and a replacement bus would be waiting for me there. On the way, the warning light came on with increasing frequency and the temperature was starting to rise. At the top of the hill in Rozelle, the temperature hit 100 degrees. I waited until I got to the bottom of the hill (just before Iron Cove Bridge) to pull over as this seemed the safest place to do so. I asked the passengers to leave the bus and to wait for the next service (about 10 minutes in this case). A mechanic arrived with another bus (after nearly an hour). I returned to Circular Quay to pick up my schedule.

I had my first accident (but a minor one). I was driving in the depot parking area when I sideswiped anther bus. I was turning and watching my mirror to monitor how close I was coming to the other bus. It was after dark (about 7pm) so I was watching the running lights on the side of the bus. I thought they had all cleared but I was wrong. Perhaps I couldn’t see the last one in the mirror. A minor accident but I would have preferred it didn’t happen. Apparently, drivers have, on average 1.3 accidents a year.