30 years, 20,000 trained drivers, one objective: Preventing accidents with targeted bus/touring coach driver safety training

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Leinfelden-Echterdingen / Mannheim – The driver is key to keeping any bus/touring coach journey safe. An essential component of #daimler Buses' integral #safety concept is therefore the driver #safety training of the Omniplus service brand for drivers of Mercedes-Benz and Setra. Following a long tradition: Exactly three decades ago, Daimler-Benz AG held the first Germany-wide #safety training course for bus drivers in March 1993. In the meantime, almost 20,000 drivers have now undergone the training.

A high level of #safety awareness: Numerous registrations within a very short period of time

Mercedes-Benz and Setra have traditionally been industry pioneers in the development of #safety and driver assistance systems for buses/touring coaches. However, the decisive factor for accident-free bus/touring coach driving is sitting at the steering wheel - the driver. #daimler Buses therefore supports technical development with intensive and practice-oriented further training of driving personnel.

“The response blew us away,” recall the initiators of the first #safety training session today. At the end of 1992, the Mercedes-Benz Bus Sales department wrote to their customers to let them know about the new #safety training. When the team returned to work after the holiday at the beginning of 1993, 40 bus companies had already registered.

Together with independent experts, such as the German Association for the Prevention of Road Accidents and the #germantrafficsafetycouncil, the experts from Mercedes-Benz developed a tailor-made bus/touring coach driving #safety training course in just a few months, the first of its kind to be offered throughout Germany. It ideally complemented the existing courses for economical driving, breakdown assistance and workshop training. Under EvoBus, the programs of both brands were combined and subsequently placed under the umbrella of the Omniplus service brand.

Around ten years later, Omniplus's driving #safety training was the first event of its kind to be certified in accordance with the German Professional Driver Qualification Act (BKrFQG). Since 2006, it has been stipulating that bus/touring coach drivers in commercial passenger transport must complete a total of 35 hours of advanced professional training within five years in order to extend their driving license.

Spectacular training courses from VIP drivers to large-scale operations

In addition to traditional training courses for many thousands of drivers of privately and publicly owned bus/touring coach companies, special events have also been on the agenda time and again over the three decades. Examples include the #safety training for the team touring coach drivers for the German national soccer league, or for the bus/touring coach drivers for the participants in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

Training around 1,400 drivers of a major transport company in Germany within just a few months was a major challenge. The training sessions for 85 drivers of a touring coach company and the VIP driver training for bus/touring coach drivers of a Near Eastern potentate were somewhat out of the ordinary as well. One bus/touring coach company in northern Germany merged pleasure and practicality: It combined the acquisition of several new Setra double-decker touring coaches in Neu-Ulm with driver #safety training for their team on their way home.

Graduated range of different driver #safety training courses

Since the beginning of 1993, training experts have continuously developed the driver #safety training. Starting as a professional training course for touring coach drivers, a specific training course for city bus drivers was added to the program in as early as 1994.

A comprehensive, three-day training course in the beginning, Omniplus' #safety training is now staggered. The program ranges from a one-day intensive course on site at the bus/touring coach company (Basic #safety training) or in various driving #safety centers (Basic Plus #safety training) to comprehensive premium #safety training over two days. Training is provided in Mercedes-Benz and Setra vehicles, or with the customer's own vehicles upon request. The following applies to all: Small groups and a high amount of practical training are the secret to a successful course.

The motto of the #safety training course - today as much as back then - is to identify risks, avoid hazards and correctly handle dangerous situations when they do occur. These courses are led by experienced bus/touring coach driving trainers. The practical section includes, among other things, getting to know vehicle dimensions better through handling exercises, braking and avoiding obstacles on different road surfaces at different speeds, and braking and steering when cornering at different speeds.

Increased #safety when handling a bus/touring coach also includes detailed information on the function and safe operation of bus/touring coach #safety devices such as the brake system, Electronic Stability Program (ESP) with its numerous sub-functions, Active Brake Assist (ABA), Adaptive Cruise Control (ART), Lane Guard system (SPA) and other driver assistance systems.

Something that started in 1993 with an initial, specific driver #safety training course for bus/touring coach drivers has long since become a self-evident part of advanced professional training. Experts are certain: In addition to the introduction and continuous further development of state-of-the-art #safety and driver assistance systems, the training of around 20,000 drivers has now prevented accidents and made driving buses/touring coaches even safer.

Integrated in a variety of practical training courses

Omniplus driver training course experts offer many other courses and advanced training events for bus/touring coach drivers in addition to driver #safety training
- #safety aspects play an important role in this. In ExpertHandling Training, for example, bus/touring coach drivers learn more about the complex correlations between the technical details of their own new bus/touring coach and how they can apply this knowledge in everyday life. This makes it a perfect complement to #safety training. The same applies to emergency training. In this training, bus/touring coach drivers learn how to react correctly in emergency situations and how to keep a cool head even in precarious circumstances.

School bus training is also offered, both for drivers and school students. This training course is held at the respective school and consists of a theoretical and a critical practical component that lets the children experience #safety firsthand. Omniplus offers communication training to instruct drivers on how to interact with passengers. The Eco Training course demonstrates to participants in theory and in practice how driving properties enable a fuel reduction of up to ten percent. Finally, one module deals with driving times, rest periods and handling the digital monitoring device. Training on “Fitness, nutrition and first aid” as well as “Interacting with persons with reduced mobility and first aid” complete the program. #safety aspects are an important part of all training courses.

Further information on the training sites and the Bus Training Platform is available at the following website: www.omniplus.com/de/support/training