UK PCV Theory Test Accident and Breakdown Procedures 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A fire breaks out in the engine compartment of your bus while passengers are on board. What is your immediate priority?
- Attempt to extinguish the fire using the onboard extinguisher before taking any other action
- Stop the vehicle safely, evacuate all passengers, and then call the emergency services (Correct answer)
- Keep driving to the nearest fire station to get professional help
- Warn passengers to stay seated while you assess the severity of the fire
Correct answer: Stop the vehicle safely, evacuate all passengers, and then call the emergency services
The immediate priority is passenger safety. You must stop as safely and quickly as possible, evacuate everyone away from the vehicle, and then contact emergency services. Attempting to fight the fire before evacuating risks injury or death if the fire spreads rapidly.
Question 2: Your coach breaks down on the hard shoulder of a motorway. Where should you and your passengers wait?
- Inside the coach with seatbelts fastened
- On the hard shoulder, close to the coach
- Behind the safety barrier, well away from the carriageway
- On the nearside verge or behind the barrier, away from the hard shoulder (Correct answer)
Correct answer: On the nearside verge or behind the barrier, away from the hard shoulder
The hard shoulder is extremely dangerous due to high-speed traffic. Passengers and the driver should move away from the vehicle and wait on the verge or behind the safety barrier, never remaining inside the coach or standing on the hard shoulder.
Question 3: After a road traffic collision involving your bus, when must you notify your operator or transport manager?
- Within 72 hours
- As soon as reasonably practicable, and always within 24 hours (Correct answer)
- Only if the police have also been informed
- Within seven days, when you complete the accident report form
Correct answer: As soon as reasonably practicable, and always within 24 hours
Operators have a duty of care and must be informed promptly so they can fulfil their own legal and insurance obligations. Most operator licences and company policies require notification as soon as reasonably practicable, which in practice means within 24 hours.
Question 4: A passenger on your bus collapses and appears to be unconscious. You have no first-aid training. What should you do?
- Continue to the next stop and ask the passenger to alight
- Stop the vehicle safely, call 999, and follow the dispatcher's instructions until help arrives (Correct answer)
- Ask other passengers if anyone has first-aid training, but do not stop the bus
- Drive directly to the nearest hospital without calling 999
Correct answer: Stop the vehicle safely, call 999, and follow the dispatcher's instructions until help arrives
You must stop the vehicle in a safe place immediately and call 999. Emergency dispatchers are trained to guide untrained bystanders through basic life-saving steps. Continuing the journey or self-routing to a hospital wastes critical time and puts other passengers at risk.
Question 5: You are driving a PCV and discover that your tachograph has developed a fault mid-journey. What must you do?
- Continue the journey as normal and report the fault at the end of the week
- Stop immediately and refuse to drive until the tachograph is repaired
- Make a manual record of your hours on a tachograph printout or plain paper for the rest of the journey, and have the unit repaired as soon as possible (Correct answer)
- Switch to the backup analogue mode and carry on without informing anyone
Correct answer: Make a manual record of your hours on a tachograph printout or plain paper for the rest of the journey, and have the unit repaired as soon as possible
If the tachograph malfunctions, drivers are legally required to record their activities manually on the reverse of any printout or on a separate sheet for the duration of the fault. The device must be repaired by an approved centre as soon as reasonably possible, and usually within one week.
Question 6: After a collision, you notice fuel is leaking from your bus. What should you do?
- Use a rag to try to plug the leak and continue to your destination
- Warn passengers and bystanders to keep away, prohibit smoking, and inform the emergency services (Correct answer)
- Wait to see whether the leak stops before deciding whether to call for help
- Ask passengers to help you push the vehicle away from other traffic
Correct answer: Warn passengers and bystanders to keep away, prohibit smoking, and inform the emergency services
Leaking fuel is a serious fire and explosion hazard. You must immediately warn everyone to keep well clear and strictly prevent any ignition sources such as smoking or naked flames. The emergency services must be called so the hazard can be made safe professionally.
UK PCV Theory Test Accident and Breakdown Procedures 1
A fire breaks out in the engine compartment of your bus while passengers are on board.
What is your immediate priority?