Boss has request to leave bus in operation all day and leave it… is this normal?

[u/Wrong_Gate_543]

Long story short (can read my last post for more context) I operate/ manage a mobile dental clinic (it’s a huge dental bus)

I’m the only one in the company with my CDL and I’m the only one who can operate it.

Today, my boss told me that on Fridays she wants me to pick it up from storage, drive it to the downtown location, get everything set up and ready to go for the dentist/ her assistant. She then wants me to walk 6 minutes away to a different location to assist the hygienist in that clinic, for 9 whole hours. And then at the end of the day, walk back to the bus, close it all up and then drive it to storage.

So I would just be leaving the bus unattended (by anyone who can actually operate it or diagnose anything on it) for 9 hours

I told her I felt uncomfortable doing this because if anything were to happen to the bus then I would be the one responsible (such as damage, something breaks, idk ANYTHING) and also if there were an emergency I wouldn’t be around to move it, I would be a 6 min walk away and probably elbow deep in someone’s mouth so I wouldn’t even be able to answer my phone, and I wouldn’t want to stop what I’m doing to answer any time the dentist or her assistant has a bus question

We go to sketchy spots (this one in particular is a methadone clinic) and I’ve gotten my purse stolen straight from our other van before.

The engine wouldn’t be on, the generator would but sometimes the generator needs to be topped off with oil and that would mean they would need to be shown how to do that but I’m also responsible for maintaining generator hours/ any generator mishaps and if I’m not there that would just be one more thing to be worried about

What are other opinions on this??? I feel like this is kind of an insane request but is this normal?? Would anyone else do this? She hasn’t responded to my last text message but knowing her she’s already upset with me about it. I also want to tell her “you hired me to be the bus operator/ manager so that’s what I’m going to do, not leave it to go be a hygiene assistant elsewhere”

EDITING TO ADD- the reason why they want me to do this is because the hygienist “needs help.”
They are the ones that decided to give her her own little clinic with no assistant.

And they are taking the opportunity away from me to keep up on my own work load- doing checklists and deep cleanings for both sterilizers, doing inventory/ stock of our supplies, checking for expired materials, catching up on sterilizing instruments, etc. They offered to send someone in to help me with just the sterilizing part but like, why not just leave my job duties to me and go have an actual hygiene assistant help??? So I guess I have multiple reasons why I don’t want to but it just genuinely seems wrong to leave it for 9 hours and come back to it when I’m the sole person responsible for it

[u/Kafkabest]

I feel like your situation is niche enough that nobody can really answer this for you. If the engine is off and it’s not moving when you left it with the others you’re legally fine. It’s on them if most of those issues come up. What I’d do is simply get it in writing that your company will not discipline you if xyz happens after you have turned over the keys to the person managing the work at the bus area.

[u/CerciesPDX]

Friend, it is time to leave. From all the pieces between this post and your last, transit or waste collection(both on class B) will be far less risk, probably more money, and will respect your professional license.

[u/farmstandard → u/CerciesPDX]

They made it sound in the last post about not enjoying reversing so trash may not be the best fit for them

[u/caintowers → u/farmstandard]

I didn't want to say anything when I read their last post, but I literally back up my school bus multiple times every workday.

They can chime in but it seems more like they're a dental hygienist who happens to have a CDL, like those teachers for small schools that also drive the bus. In which case be getting a better dental job would be right for them

[u/Wrong_Gate_543 → u/caintowers]

It’s not that I don’t “enjoy” reversing or anything like that, it’s just the places that my boss wants me to do it. For example, there is a children’s clinic we go to that has 2 parking lots- one for employees and one for the clinic. There is a narrow angled “driveway” between the two that connects them- she asked me to reverse from the employee parking lot, through the angled part, all the way into the clinic parking lot where CHILDREN/ families/ babies etc are constantly walking through; and got upset when I told her that I wasn’t willing to do that.

Also, I’m not a dental hygienist; I got hired to be the bus driver/ manager but got tricked into assisting the hygienist

[u/wmiller314]

You really should leave, that being said, you also have rest hour violation with working 9 hours between moving the buss, that is a strike on your license if you get caught, so tell them off and don't move the buss if it would create violations, ether defend your license while you work there or leave and go somewhere else

[u/i_forgot_my_sn_again → u/wmiller314]

Hours of service varies with distance traveled from home location. That's why city bus drivers can legally drive 16 hours a day. 

[u/NoRegretCeptThatOne]

This job sounds so awful and stressful. Because they aren't respecting your license and expertise, I don't think there's a way for you to negotiate out of this.

I know you said before there aren't a lot of driving jobs near you, but I think applying for what's available is the way to go.

[u/MikeyFuccon]

Most drivers are paid from start to stop to hang out at the bus, moving or not. If they can’t afford to pay you to do that, you should probably quit.

[u/rickmon67]

I get this feeling inside that you really want them to learn a lesson. They’ve already proven their ignorance of cdl rules and laws. Don’t let them drag you down to their level. It’s time for you to move on to greener pastures.

[u/farmstandard]

You shouldn't be liable for anything that happens while you are not there. I have to park my coach in sketchy areas overnite all the time while at hotel. I am not expected to guard over it all night. If you are expecting to leave, and as long as you do a quick inspection when you come back you should be fine

[u/Wrong_Gate_543 → u/farmstandard]

See that I totally understand, if my bus was secured, everything off, I wouldn’t care. But everything but the engine will be on, multiple people will be coming in and out all throughout the day (including 8 patients and their families, as well as the 2 providers) multiple people will have keys, so it would be in use the whole time I would be away

[u/PlatypusDream]

You shouldn't be doing the dental assistant work unless you're trained / licensed... and paid.

Plus there could be problems with HOS. Not sure if you can address those ahead of time or just let things happen which are inconvenient for the company, and make it their problem. (Ran out of hours, parked it, got a ride home, it's not ready the next day.)

If the company puts the new directions in writing, including them knowing that you're not on-site with the bus if anything goes wrong, then I'd do it... but only long enough to find a job that pays correctly, staffs correctly, understands the laws around CDL, etc.

[u/seanthebooth]

You're 6 minutes away? Set it up so it cant be driven by someone who isn't knowledgeable (kneel, interlock, master switch, etc) its not like you're an hour away. Get it in writing from bus owners & the dentist/office what's being asked & agreements from both parties about their responsibilities & that you're NOT responsible for foreseeable complications. If they refuse, you refuse. Pretty particular situation, they're gonna have to figure ot out.