On Friday, January 7, road safety advisor Uwe Castens and the Kreisverkehrswacht (district traffic watch) held a bus training course for 21 participants at Lebenshilfe in Oberbruch. The aim was to prepare the young men and women for their future careers and encourage them to use public transport independently.
Before the practical test, several hours of theory were taught each week on the topics of road safety and hazard awareness. The meeting point for everyone was the bus parking lot at the center in Richard-Wagner-Straße in Oberbruch. After a welcome from PHK Castens, Johannes Kiwitt, Kreisverkehrswacht Heinsberg, and Hartmut Thomanek, bus driver from WEST Verkehr, they set off.
The practical exercise began with advice and rules of conduct when boarding and finding a seat on the bus. An emergency braking test was then carried out on the Lebenshilfe premises. To illustrate this danger, Uwe Castens had an unsecured dummy "fly" through the aisle in the bus.
The next stop was the public transport area in the town of Heinsberg. The participants practiced getting on and off the bus at various bus stops. People with rollators or wheelchairs practiced using the boarding aid (ramp) at the rear entrance.
Uwe Castens then recreated an emergency situation in driving mode to demonstrate how to exit the vehicle safely and in an orderly manner. It was now necessary to open the entrance doors manually in order to exit the bus. The theoretical presentation was followed by the practical exercise, which was very successful. In less than 60 seconds, the participants had safely exited the bus and gathered at a sufficient distance.
Finally, the problem of blind spots was presented. Uwe Castens used a tarpaulin that was rolled out on the floor. This tarpaulin contained information about the "blind spot" and clearly marked the danger zone. Mr. Thomanek also vacated his driver's seat and some participants were able to check the blind spot using the bus's mirrors.
After 2.5 hours of test driving, the training day came to an end. Afterwards, the participants received various safety items from Johannes Kiwitt, such as neon yellow carrier bags and reflective snap-on wristbands, which can significantly increase visibility in road traffic.