By Dave Millhouser

Perhaps you may recall the story, a couple of columns ago, where my boss dispatched me, with a flatbed truck, to bring back a burned bus. (You DO memorize these things, right?)

Perhaps I failed to mention that Id never driven a tractor-trailer before, but figured "how different can it be from a bus?"

Everything went smoothly until I reached the garage and had to back the rig into a stall. The whole gang marched out to the parking lot to see the coach carcass, and got more entertainment than they expected.

Gotta tell ya, I learned the hard way (and with an amused audience) that backing a trailer requires skills, and they are counterintuitive. I still smell burning clutch, hear clashing gears, and recall creative cursing, every time I recall that day.

Trucks and coaches are different in lots of ways, and it behooves us to remind legislators and regulators of that fact.

Trucks carry cargo, which rarely complains. As a result, their builders put less effort into amenities like suspension, noise control and HVAC. In North America, tractor suspensions are so firm that manufacturers normally add springs to the cab mounts and drivers seat. These absorb some of the thrashing the driver might otherwise be taking.

Buses carry passengers who generally dont enjoy beatings, so manufacturers spend tons of effort smoothing the ride for the whole vehicle. In addition to coddling customers, those suspensions are gentle on the road surface. The effort to control the wheels violence to the coach also works in the other direction, and a 50,000-pound bus pounds the pavement substantially less than a 50,000-pound truck.

Currently, coaches enjoy a measure of immunity from state weight laws, and its important we keep it that way. In years past, operators had to either mechanically alter coaches, or lighten loads, to run in states with restrictive laws.

Properly loaded, coaches today meet a national standard, which supersedes state regulations, on federal highways.

On occasion, perhaps as a form of revenue enhancement, states weigh (and fine) buses, citing local regulations.

If held to state truck standards, current 45-foot coaches could not operate legally in most jurisdictions. Imagine the consequences to our industry, the environment and the traveling public if we slip back into that mode.

Another important distinction between trucks and buses is the way they treat drivers.

Anyone who has been in a boat on a grumpy sea understands how tiring it is to fight constant motion. Coaches ride better than trucks, so drivers use less energy sitting in the seat.

Have you ever been driving around, searching for an address, and turned the radio down to avoid distraction? Crafty bus builders put the noisy engine in the back, and cover it with insulation, making the coach cockpit nearly as quiet as a luxury car. Things done for the passengers benefit often make the drivers job less stressful.

Freight rarely asks for meal stops or bathroom breaks, while most coach trips are punctuated by such requests, offering drivers periodic changes of pace.

This is not to make the case that operating a coach is easier than driving a truck, only substantially different. Physically, bus driving is probably easier, but truckers dont have to contend with the whims of the traveling public. In some ways a coach driver is always "on."

Trucks outnumber buses by a bazillion, but our cargo is more valuable than theirs, and our industry deserves to be studied and understood as being unique. Thats true when it comes to hours of service, coach construction, safety regulations and weight laws (I may have forgotten a few).

When regulators lump us with truckers, they are either uninformed or predisposed to take the easier course of action.

If theyre looking for a comparable industry, they might take a peek at the public sector transit industry (currently exempt from many regulations the private sector must adhere to).

Ive told this one before . . . but Im hoping you forgot it.

Years ago, a call came in from a gentleman in upstate New York who wanted to start a coach company. Since I was a hungry bus salesman, we quickly became best buddies.

He had operated trucks successfully for many years and had decided it would be easier to run coaches.

I asked him why he wanted to get into the buses, and he replied: "Because they load themselves." He hadnt given much thought to luggage.

Apparently the differences between trucks and buses were significant and stressful. When I checked back with him hed had a couple of heart attacks and was a candidate for a transplant.

Hope he made it.

Dave Millhouser is a bus industry marketing consultant and freelance writer. Contact him by email at Davemillhouser@gmail.com.