UK PCV Theory Test sample questions

• ✓ Only when the doors are closed and boarding passengers are seated or holding on safely, and no one is still on the steps
• • As soon as the last person steps onto the platform
• • When the passenger behind you sounds the bell
• • As soon as the doors begin to close

Wait until boarding is complete, the doors are shut, and passengers, especially older or disabled people, have had time to sit down or take a secure hold. Moving off too soon is a common cause of passenger falls.

• • On any bus or coach if there are no free seats
• ✓ On a local service bus that is constructed and certified to carry standees, up to the marked standing limit
• • On a long-distance coach on motorways only
• • On a minibus with fewer than 16 seats

Standing is only permitted on vehicles designed and certificated for it, typically local buses, and only up to the standing capacity shown on the vehicle. Coaches and express services must not carry standing passengers.

• • Nothing; it is entirely up to the passengers
• • To physically fasten each passenger's belt
• ✓ To make sure passengers aged 14 and over are informed they must wear the belts, by announcement, a recorded message, signs or individual notification
• • To refuse to carry anyone who will not sign a form

Where belts are fitted, passengers aged 14 and over must wear them and are responsible for doing so, but the driver or operator must inform them of the requirement, for example by an announcement, recorded message or clear signs.

• • It reduces tyre wear only
• • It is required to keep to the timetable
• • It saves fuel and nothing else
• ✓ Harsh braking, acceleration or cornering can throw passengers about, particularly those standing or moving to the exit, causing falls and injuries

Passengers are often standing, unbelted or on their feet approaching a stop. Reading the road early so you brake, accelerate and steer gently keeps them stable and prevents injuries, as well as improving comfort.

• ✓ As close and parallel to the kerb as possible, on firm, level ground, using the kneeling suspension where fitted
• • At an angle so the front door is clear of the shelter
• • A metre out from the kerb so cyclists can pass
• • Wherever there is space, even if it means stopping short of the stop

Stopping tight to the kerb and parallel, on firm level ground, minimises the step and gap. Lowering the kneeling suspension and deploying a ramp where needed helps older and disabled passengers and those with buggies.

• • It wastes fuel
• ✓ A passenger could fall out or be caught in the doorway; most buses also have an interlock that prevents driving with a door open
• • It sets off the ticket machine
• • It drains the battery

Moving with a door open risks a passenger falling from the vehicle or being dragged. Door interlocks are fitted to prevent this, but you must still check the doors are closed and clear before moving off.

• ✓ Allow them and the assistance dog to board; you must not refuse a recognised assistance dog, and you should help the passenger to a seat, ideally the priority seat, if they wish
• • Ask them to leave the dog at the stop
• • Only carry the dog if it is muzzled and caged
• • Charge an extra fare for the dog

Assistance dogs must be carried and cannot be refused. Offer the passenger help to a priority seat where the dog has floor space, and give them time to settle before moving off.

• • Ask the passenger to hurry
• ✓ Wait patiently, offer the kneeling suspension and a hand if wanted, and let them reach a seat before moving off
• • Tell the other passengers to board through the centre doors past them
• • Close the doors and set off once they are on the platform

Your duty of care means giving vulnerable passengers the time and help they need. Use the kneeling function, offer assistance, ignore the pressure from others, and only pull away once they are safely seated.

• • Tell them to get off at the next stop and sit down
• • Carry on to the terminus and deal with it there
• ✓ Pull in at a safe place as soon as you can, stop, check on them, call an ambulance if needed, and keep other passengers informed
• • Give them water and keep driving

Stop safely at the first opportunity and assess the passenger. Provide first aid within your ability, call 999 if the situation is serious, and let other passengers know there will be a short delay.

• • Announce it and give it to whoever claims it
• • Leave it on the seat for the owner to return
• • Take it home for safekeeping
• ✓ Follow your company's lost property procedure: record it and hand it in at the end of your duty; do not keep or open it beyond identifying an owner

Handle found property honestly and according to company rules. Record where and when it was found, keep it secure, and hand it to the depot lost property office so the rightful owner can reclaim it.

• ✓ Ask them politely but firmly to stop, as smoking (and usually vaping) on a bus is not allowed and is an offence; follow company procedure if they refuse
• • Ignore it as it does not affect your driving
• • Open all the windows and continue
• • Stop the bus and refuse to move until every passenger complains

Smoking on public transport is prohibited by law and vaping is banned by most operators. Ask the passenger to stop. If they will not, follow your company's procedure, which may involve refusing to continue or contacting control or the police.

• • Argue that it was not your fault and refuse to discuss it
• ✓ Stay calm and polite, apologise for their experience, and tell them how to make a formal complaint; do not get drawn into a row while driving
• • Tell them to write to the council
• • Let them travel for free to keep them quiet

Deal with complaints courteously. Acknowledge the passenger's frustration, give them the information they need to complain properly, and do not let the exchange distract you from driving safely.

• ✓ Regular services where the route is more than 50 km, and occasional (for example coach tour and private hire) services
• • Only school-run minibuses
• • Only vehicles carrying more than 30 passengers
• • All bus work without exception

EU rules and the tachograph apply to PCVs on regular routes over 50 km and to occasional services. Most local bus routes of 50 km or less fall under the GB domestic hours rules instead.

• • 9 hours
• ✓ 10 hours
• • 8 hours
• • 12 hours

The GB domestic rules allow up to 10 hours' driving in a day, with a duty limit of 16 hours from starting work, and a break of at least 30 minutes after no more than 5 hours 30 minutes of continuous driving.

• • 8 hours every day
• • 11 hours every day
• ✓ 9 hours, which may be extended to 10 hours no more than twice a week
• • 10 hours, extendable to 12 hours twice a week

The EU daily driving limit is 9 hours, which can be increased to 10 hours on up to two days in a week. Weekly driving must not exceed 56 hours and fortnightly driving not more than 90 hours.

• • 30 minutes, which cannot be split
• • 20 minutes every 2 hours
• • 60 minutes taken all at once
• ✓ At least 45 minutes, which may be replaced by a break of at least 15 minutes followed by a break of at least 30 minutes taken within the 4.5 hours

The required break is 45 minutes, or a 15-minute break followed by a 30-minute break, arranged so that no more than 4.5 hours of driving is done before a full break is completed.

• ✓ 11 hours, which may be reduced to 9 hours no more than three times between weekly rest periods
• • 8 hours
• • 9 hours every day
• • 12 hours

Normal daily rest is at least 11 hours, and it can be split as 3 hours then 9 hours. A reduced daily rest of at least 9 hours is allowed on up to three occasions between two weekly rest periods.

• • Leave it in the depot office
• ✓ Insert it into the tachograph and, if required, make manual entries for any duty or rest since the card was last used
• • Share it with the relief driver
• • Keep it in your wallet and only insert it if stopped

Insert your card before driving. The unit records driving automatically; use the mode switch for other work, availability and breaks, and make manual entries for the period since the card was removed so the record is complete.

• • Keep going until your 4.5 hours are up
• • Open the window and turn up the radio and carry on
• ✓ Stop at a safe place and rest or sleep; the hours limits are a maximum, not a guarantee that you are fit to keep driving
• • Speed up to finish the journey sooner

The hours rules set outer limits, but you must always be fit to drive. If you are sleepy, the only real remedy is to stop somewhere safe and rest. Continuing while drowsy is dangerous and can be an offence in itself.

• • Mid-morning and mid-evening
• • Only after eating a large meal at any time
• • Only in the first hour of a shift
• ✓ In the early hours of the morning (around 2 to 6 am) and in the early afternoon (around 2 to 4 pm)

The body clock produces natural dips in alertness overnight and in the early afternoon. Plan breaks and, where possible, avoid driving through the worst of these periods, and be extra alert if you must.

• ✓ Work back from the arrival time, include the required 45-minute break, allow for traffic, roadworks and passenger delays, and treat loading and vehicle checks as working time
• • Assume no traffic and use the 10-hour driving extension every day
• • Leave breaks out and take them only if there is spare time
• • Plan to the exact minute with no contingency

A realistic plan starts from when passengers must arrive, then adds the mandatory break, sensible contingency for delays, and the 'other work' time for checks and luggage, so you are not forced to break the rules or rush.

• • Carry out light vehicle checks
• ✓ Only rest; you must not carry out any driving or other work, though you may leave the vehicle
• • Help passengers with their luggage
• • Refuel the coach

A break is for recuperation only. You must not drive or do any other work during it. Time spent on checks, fuelling or helping passengers is 'other work' and does not count towards the break.

• • 30 minutes first, then 15 minutes
• • Two breaks of 20 minutes each
• ✓ A break of at least 15 minutes first, then a break of at least 30 minutes, completed before 4.5 hours of driving is exceeded
• • Any order, as long as they total 45 minutes

If splitting the break it must be 15 minutes or more followed by 30 minutes or more, in that order, and the full 45 minutes must be completed within the 4.5 hours of driving.

• • Any time the operator instructs you to, to keep the service running
• • Whenever there is heavy traffic on the route
• • To make up time lost earlier in the week
• ✓ Only to the extent needed to reach a suitable stopping place to ensure the safety of people, the vehicle or its load, without endangering road safety, recording the reason by hand

You may exceed the limits only as far as necessary to reach a safe stopping point, in the interests of safety, and only if road safety is not compromised. Note the reason on a printout or the back of the chart as soon as you stop.

• ✓ Before the vehicle is first used each working day
• • Once a week
• • Only at the annual test
• • Only when a passenger reports a problem

The driver must check the vehicle before it is first used each day and be satisfied it is roadworthy and safe to carry passengers. Planned maintenance inspections by the operator are a separate, additional requirement.

• • Only that there is one fire extinguisher somewhere on board
• ✓ That the fire extinguishers and first aid kit are present, sealed and in date, the emergency hammers are in place, and the emergency exits and their signs are clear and working
• • Only that the first aid kit is present
• • That the equipment is locked away so passengers cannot reach it

Check the number, location, seals and expiry of the extinguishers and first aid kit, that the emergency hammers or glass-breakers are present, and that every emergency door, window and hatch operates and its signage is visible and unobstructed.

• • Use the bus but keep the doors closed manually
• • Tape the door shut and carry on
• ✓ Not take the vehicle into service; a failed door interlock is a serious passenger safety defect that must be repaired first
• • Report it at the end of the shift

The interlock stops the vehicle being driven with a door open, preventing passengers falling out. If it has failed, the bus must not carry passengers until it is fixed. Report the defect immediately.

• • They should stay on until the vehicle has been driven a mile
• • They should flash while carrying passengers
• • They only operate when the vehicle is moving
• ✓ They should go out once the compressor has built the air pressure up to the normal operating range

The warnings should clear as the air pressure rises to normal. If they do not, or come on while driving, do not take passengers; there may be a leak or a compressor fault that could lead to brake failure.

• ✓ 1 mm across at least three-quarters of the breadth of the tread, in a continuous band around the whole circumference
• • 1.6 mm across the full width
• • Any visible tread is acceptable
• • 2.5 mm across the centre only

For a bus or coach over 3,500 kg the tread must be at least 1 mm deep across at least three-quarters of the tread width, in a continuous band all the way round, with visible tread on the rest.

• • It affects the fuel consumption
• ✓ A wheelchair user may be relying on it during your shift, and a ramp that does not deploy would leave them unable to travel
• • It is checked at the MOT so you do not need to
• • It only matters on coaches, not buses

The ramp or lift is essential access equipment. Check it deploys and stows correctly, and that the wheelchair space, restraints and any powered lift controls work, so a wheelchair user is not turned away.

• ✓ Stop as soon as it is safe, away from buildings and other vehicles, switch off the engine, and get all passengers off through the safest exits and well clear
• • Open the engine bay to look for the source of the fire
• • Drive on to the next services where there is help
• • Tell passengers to stay in their seats and keep calm

Getting passengers out and clear comes before anything else. Stop clear of hazards, switch off, evacuate using exits away from the fire, move everyone well away and upwind, account for them, then call 999.

• • Always empty it into the engine bay whatever the size of the fire
• ✓ Only if the fire is still small and you can tackle it safely without opening the engine cover fully or putting yourself at risk
• • Only after the fire service has arrived
• • Never; extinguishers are only for show

Once everyone is safely off, you may attempt a small fire, opening the cover just enough to aim at the base of the flames and being ready to retreat. If it has taken hold, stay back and leave it to the fire service.

• • It is only relevant on school services
• • The operator deals with it, so the driver does not need to
• ✓ In an emergency there is no time to work it out; you need a plan, allocated helpers, and to know which exits and equipment (such as an evacuation chair) are available
• • Only coaches need an evacuation plan

Passengers who cannot move quickly are most at risk in a fire or crash. Have a plan: know the accessible exits, brief able-bodied passengers to help, and know how to use any evacuation chair or ramp if the power has failed.

• • Just beside the coach so you can keep an eye on them
• • On the hard shoulder near the rear of the coach
• • Spread along the verge to flag down help
• ✓ Well away from the vehicle and clear of the carriageway, for example up an embankment behind the safety barrier, where you can do a headcount

Move passengers well clear of the vehicle (in case of fire or explosion) and away from live traffic, ideally behind a barrier and up a bank. Keep them together so you can count everyone and keep them informed.

• ✓ Get all passengers off by the nearside, take them up the embankment behind the barrier well ahead of the coach, keep them together, and call for help from the emergency telephone
• • Keep passengers in their seats with belts on until recovery arrives
• • Ask passengers to stand behind the coach to warn traffic
• • Let passengers walk along the hard shoulder to the next junction

On a conventional motorway hard shoulder, evacuate through the nearside exits, move everyone behind the barrier and forward of the vehicle so a rear impact does not reach them, keep them together, and phone for assistance.

• • Evacuate everyone into the adjacent lane immediately
• ✓ Switch on hazard lights, keep passengers seated with belts on where fitted, and call 999 so the control room can close the lane and send help
• • Reverse to the previous exit
• • Turn the bus across the lanes to stop traffic

Where you cannot get passengers to a safe place off the carriageway, it is safer to keep everyone in the vehicle, belted where possible, with hazard lights on, and call 999. The control room can set a red X and dispatch help.