8.2 Fitness to Drive, Alcohol, Drugs, Fatigue & Distraction

Fitness Is a Pre-Drive Decision

A Category D driver is responsible for many passengers and for vulnerable road users around a large vehicle. Fitness to drive must be checked before accepting the vehicle and throughout the duty. A legal roster, valid licence or passed medical does not guarantee that the driver is alert on a particular day.

Ask: Have I slept adequately? Am I ill, emotionally overwhelmed or affected by pain? Have I taken alcohol, illegal drugs, prescribed medicine or an over-the-counter remedy that can impair alertness, vision, coordination or judgement? If the answer creates doubt, contact the operator and do not drive until fit.

Alcohol, Drugs and Medicines

Ireland applies a lower alcohol threshold to professional, learner and novice drivers: 20 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood (with corresponding breath and urine limits). This is an enforcement ceiling, not a drinking target. Alcohol affects judgement and reaction before a person feels drunk, and levels can remain the morning after drinking. The reliable professional rule is no alcohol before driving and no assumption that coffee, food, sleep or a shower removes it quickly.

Drug-driving law covers specified illegal drugs and impairment by intoxicants. Cannabis, cocaine and other substances can affect reaction, attention, risk judgement and coordination long after the immediate sensation changes. Never use a drug and then guess whether enough time has passed.

Medicines also matter. Sedating antihistamines, strong pain medicines, sleep aids and some anxiety or other treatments can impair driving. Read the label and patient information, tell the prescriber or pharmacist that you drive buses, and follow medical advice. Do not stop essential prescribed treatment without advice; arrange alternative duty when the treatment or condition makes driving unsafe. Combining medicine with alcohol can magnify impairment.

Fatigue and Sleep

EU hours and rest rules limit work patterns, but they cannot measure sleep quality or personal alertness. Fatigue risk rises after insufficient sleep, long wakefulness, monotonous roads, night work and during normal circadian lows. Sleep apnoea or other disorders can create chronic risk even when the driver spends enough hours in bed.

Warning signs include repeated yawning, heavy eyelids, wandering attention, missed signs, poor speed control, lane-position errors and not remembering the last kilometres. These are late warnings. Open windows, loud music and willpower do not cure fatigue.

If fatigue appears, stop at the first safe and lawful place, secure the bus and notify the operator. Take appropriate rest; a short planned nap and caffeine may help temporarily where the operator's plan allows, but neither replaces required sleep or statutory rest. Never promise to “push on” to the depot with passengers at risk.

Phones, Screens and Other Distraction

Holding a mobile phone while driving is illegal. A hands-free call may avoid the hand-held offence but still consumes attention, so professional policies may prohibit it. Set the destination, ticket equipment, radio and climate controls before moving where possible. Let authorised passenger-information or control-room systems wait until the bus is stationary unless the equipment is designed and approved for safe minimal interaction.

Do not read or send messages at lights or in moving queues. A stopped bus in traffic is still part of the driving task. If communication is necessary, park in a safe lawful place, secure the vehicle, and then use the device. Passengers, disputes, dropped objects and cab equipment can also distract; slow or stop before the task displaces road observation.

Health, Eyesight and Professional Responsibility

Wear any corrective lenses required by the licence and carry a safe spare where the operator requires one. Report changes in vision, blackouts, seizures, diabetes control, sleep disorder, cardiovascular symptoms or other relevant conditions through the NDLS/RSA medical process. Do not hide a condition out of fear of losing work; managed treatment and appropriate licensing protect the driver and public.

Adjust the seat, steering wheel and mirrors before departure. Take rostered breaks, hydrate and eat in a way that supports alertness. Operators must plan workable schedules and respond to fitness reports, but the driver makes the immediate no-go decision. A professional who declares themselves unfit is exercising safety responsibility, not failing it.

Shared Driver and Operator Controls

A sound operator provides realistic rosters, a route for confidential fitness reporting, training on medicines and fatigue, and a process for arranging relief. The driver must use that process early. Swapping duties or delaying departure is safer than beginning a journey and hoping symptoms disappear.

Fitness can deteriorate during a shift. Reassess after a break, meal, stressful incident or new symptom. Record work and rest truthfully; selecting the tachograph bed symbol does not turn wakeful paperwork or disturbed time into restorative sleep. If another driver appears unfit, raise the concern through the operator's safety procedure rather than treating impairment as a private matter.