Louise Slee

Driving a minibus is easy enough for any driver. There is, however, one aspect that minibuses share with children - neither comes with instructions. This is where being able to pick the brains of a minibus driver with experience comes in. Our tame expert, D1 Category licensed Scout Leader David, has been driving minibuses for 30 years. Here are some more hints and tips from him, for minibus drivers starting from scratch to those with many miles under their belt.

Many individuals and organisations take vehicles to Europe with minimal trouble. However, while cars, caravans and motorhomes can be used in the EU with little more than the essentials, taking a minibus to Europe requires a little more in the way of legal documentation. The aforementioned essentials are also necessary but the addition of EU-legal number plates or a GB plate, the relevant insurance cover and breakdown insurance are obvious requirements.

Here are a few sobering figures. When you're driving, the grip of your car tyres ultimately determines how quickly it can stop. At 30mph, the tonne or more of moving metal you're piloting is travelling at 45 feet per second; every second equals 2.8 car lengths. At 70mph, every second's travel is 105 feet. In ideal conditions, a car travelling at 30 mph takes 75 feet to stop; at 70mph, it's 105 feet.

Once more unto the breach dear friends, or rather, once more into the gripping world of car tyre trivia. So, did you know?

The word 'tyre' is derived from the word 'attire' i.e. clothing. This makes the American spelling 'tire' the more accurate.

The very earliest 'tyres' actually helped hold wheels together. The part that ran on the road was an iron band, which was heated and placed over the 'felloe', or rim, of a wooden wheel.

Unlike on 'Who wants to be a millionaire', your car tyres are your lifeline in the life or death sense. Their four contact patches, their 'footprints', are all that are keeping you and a tonne or more of moving metal away from a close encounter with the passing scenery or worse, with a moving 18-wheeler. Unfortunately, many drivers feel their tyres are forgettable but the old adage about looking after you're tyres so they look after you is ever true.

"Now is the winter of our discontent", said Richard III. In fact, he meant that the time of unhappiness was past. However, if you don't check your car tyres - and your car - before adverse conditions arrive, you could experience a highly discontented winter.

Anyone accustomed to living in 'this sceptered isle' (Shakespeare again) will be more than familiar with what we are liable to encounter.

Here's a question: if a minibus is just like a car, why am I reading about driving one in the UK? Good question but the answer might surprise you. Yes, a minibus is like a car in that it has four wheels and the expected controls, lights and so forth. However, there are elements of using a minibus in the UK that differ from those applying to driving a car.

Car tyres do a magnificent job. Few would argue with this but there are those who seem to believe that their car's tyres can perform miracles. Most people who've seen the consequences of this belief would argue with it. Now that winter is upon us with a vengeance, knowing what car tyres can and can't do, particularly on snow and ice, becomes particularly helpful.

'Not rain, nor sleet, nor snow nor hail will keep this messenger from his appointed rounds.' This motto served the Pony Express over its 19-month life on its 1,966-mile route from April 1860. To a great extent, none of these circumstances, in moderation at least, will keep a minibus from reaching its destination. However, there are conditions that can and will stop a minibus.

We all know minibuses can't fly but if you drive a minibus with passengers aboard, you have as much responsibility for your passengers' safety as any airline pilot. In some respects you have more; an airline pilot can't knock anyone down at a road junction because his brakes don't work! Getting into the habit of making the five following checks pre-journey is easy and should be your standard practice.