By Dave Millhouser

It was 1979 and as a freshly minted bus salesman Id been tapped to do a nationwide tour with the prototype of our newest model.

It was pretty exciting stuff but for some reason the factory couldnt get the left brake light to work. All this new technology and yet we had to ran a piece of wire across the inside of the engine door from the right light, make a splice, crimp a couple of connectors . . . and I was off.

One of the advantages our industry has over the airlines is that when one of our machines breaks we can usually coast to the side of the road and look for help. Coasting is problematic for a jetliner.

Anyone who has dealt in used motorcoaches, or done work on transient buses, can tell you that our industry may be a little too good at exploiting this advantage.

Computerized drive trains and multiplex electrical systems on newer coaches have reduced the temptation, however. Running spare wires on a modern bus could cause your toilet to flush when you flip the RH directional (imagine what the hazard light switch might do!).

There seem to be two different approaches to this sort of thing.

One large transit authoritys policy is that, whenever the brakes are touched, they replace everything on that axle -- brakes, bearings, bellows and bushings. Amazing what you can do when youre spending other folks money.

The far end of the spectrum was a now-defunct carrier in Colorado who rooted through our scrap bin for worn cylinder liners. Hed buff them up and use them to "rebuild" engines. Trust me, if WE threw them away they were scrap.

Were looking for a reasonable and responsible middle ground. I once saw a beautifully maintained coach towed 400 miles because one highly visible wire had come loose. Just looking in the engine compartment could have saved a world of hurt.

Every company is different with regard to what their drivers are capable of doing, but its important YOU get them the highest level of skill possible. Youre looking for triage here, an accurate picture of whats wrong and whether it can be fixed quickly.

You cant ask them to fix most problems but they can accurately observe whats happening. Theres a difference between power steering fluid and diesel fuel. Whats leaking does matter. Steaming coolant smells different than hot brakes and requires different actions.

We spend a lot of time teaching safety and it would be worthwhile to use some of it to show drivers what all that stuff in the back does. We may not ask them to do repairs but we do want them to know which dipstick theyre looking at or what that broken belt USED to drive.

Its a lot easier and more effective to teach this stuff in your facility -- before an incident. On many modern coaches, an educated driver can even be coached to diagnose electrical problems, without leaving their seat.

A savvy driver can reduce the damage to your bus and make the difference between parking the bus and coasting to a stop. Its a safety issue, if for no other reason than the breakdown lane is a dangerous place.

If your driver can diagnose the problem, then you have the option of calling in help, trying to fix it or limp it home.

Theres a lot of redundancy built into modern coaches. Instead of one big electrical motor, there may be several, so losing one isnt catastrophic. What the heck, there are two alternators in lots of new coaches, and we got by on one for years. Dual-pane glass is great because when the outer is cracked, chip the rest away and the inner will do.

Limping in in any of these modes (or some even more imaginative ones) can be a painful necessity. Sadly, Ive seen coaches DISPATCHED with these conditions. Thats akin to leaping from an airplane, knowing your main parachute wont work and hoping the spare will open.

Weve all patched, hopefully not quite so dramatically. The trick is to do it rarely ... and wisely. The other trick is to fix it right as soon as possible. If you dont, youll forget the patch and expose yourself to huge liability if theres an accident down the road.

Bus builders put all that stuff in there for a reason.

Boiled down, in addition to management exercising good judgment with regard to when patching is appropriate, the key is educating drivers. Its far easier teaching in your shop than yelling to make yourself understood on a cell phone over the roar of passing semis.

The prototype went 30,000 miles and then was sold. When it was delivered, that cobbled wire was still there and working. For all I know, it still is.

Dave Millhouser is a bus industry marketing consultant and freelance writer. Contact him at: dave_millhouser@hotmail.com.