When I used to do school trips to France, you could see some parents examining the coach in minute detail.Tyre kicking, examining bodywork, O licence, tax disc, and me the driver, as I was loading the luggage. It was worse than an MOT every trip. As a parent myself, I can understand their fears and concerns as they waved goodbye to their kids, so I like to think I was an extra careful driver as far as school trips were concerned.
My Daughter went to Barcelona or rather half hour out the other side and they did do it in about 23 hours but she seemed to think it was one driver to Dover then 2 different ones got on and the first driver disappeared.
She’s off to South bloody Africa next year how times change i went to the Brecons.
When I used to drive school trips to south of France we would fly down to Luton from aberdeen the day before. A feeder would bring the coach down overnight meeting me and another driver at Luton the feeder driver would then fly home and we would head south and do it in our legal time. Poor kids never got a break though apart from toilet breaks
ROG:
Rest under EU regs cannot be taken in a moving vehicle - its in the rules
That’s what seems to make the idea of using more than one driver pointless at least in the case of the possibility of using it to run those types of distances with just food and fuel stops at PSV type speeds. 
I went on 2 coach trips to Austria & Venice when i was at school, both times we picked up drivers who had flown ahead. The drivers who flew out then took over for the rest of the trip once the long drive had been taken care of.
Even the trip to Venice was only about 18 hours so Austria is an awful lot less
All our school trips were in ■■■■■ like this & I lived to tell the tale 
don’t worry
Crikey the coach came from Leicester? Youd have thought they would have hired from a more local outfit 
ADR’s picture above has brought back some (not very good to be honest 
) memories of many a school trip. I used to get terrifically sick in those old heaps, with the teachers racing up and down the isle with a bucket and tissues to catch the sick from various kids, what a job. The smell of exhaust through the heating and the cramped faded seats. A manual gearbox with a massive throw on the gear lever (not that that affected me lol).
Some memorable ones; Stibbington activity centre, Kentwell Hall and London.
Generally some good drivers but some miserable ■■■■■ too
Remember was 12/13 went nr koblenz for week with school
Had driver take us to dover
Then change if driver at dover who then stayed with us for the week
He was actually a good laugh when couple of us (looked older )
Were sat in a german bar one evening drinking and smoking
And in walked him had the crack with us etc
Tben warned us one of teachers just walked in and went in toilet lol
After chatting to him said gets sent to dover night before
Given money for digs but in reality stayed home pocketed money
Drove up on morning to take coach over
Did a cheap one to spain once by coach aswell
Never again
2 drivers but they got out south lyon went in hotel and another driver
Jumped on todo final leg
Going down was sat at front snd one driver backing giving him problems
And couldnt drive anymore and had to retire to bed
Chattibg with driver sat in front with him bit more legroom
Tried to tell me it was legal to swap tachos until he knew what i did for living
Basically he did the last 7 hrs driving on his and mates tacho to get coach there
(Had to show him tbe way theough lyon aswell lol)
ADR 1:
All our school trips were in [zb] like this & I lived to tell the tale
How long ago was that?
I learnt to drive PSV in something similar to that - I actually learned in the Leopard, very similar but square lights at the front, crash gearbox and everything, it was great, a bloody flying machine - 80mph wasn’t a problem for it (on private roads)
waynedl:
ADR 1:
All our school trips were in [zb] like this & I lived to tell the tale
How long ago was that?
I learnt to drive PSV in something similar to that - I actually learned in the Leopard, very similar but square lights at the front, crash gearbox and everything, it was great, a bloody flying machine - 80mph wasn’t a problem for it (on private roads)
^^^^^^
1970’s The pic above is of a Leopard, they had a semi automatic box (with a short stubby gear lever mounted on a post as far as I remember) the big motor of they day I think would have been the Leyland Royal Tiger
ADR 1:
waynedl:
ADR 1:
All our school trips were in [zb] like this & I lived to tell the tale
How long ago was that?
I learnt to drive PSV in something similar to that - I actually learned in the Leopard, very similar but square lights at the front, crash gearbox and everything, it was great, a bloody flying machine - 80mph wasn’t a problem for it (on private roads)
^^^^^^
1970’s The pic above is of a Leopard, they had a semi automatic box (with a short stubby gear lever mounted on a post as far as I remember) the big motor of they day I think would have been the Leyland Royal Tiger
The Leopard where were taught in was virtually identical to the 1 you have above but with square lights instead of round.
But it had the manual double de-clutch gearbox on it - clutch, neutral, clutch gear up. Clutch, neutral, rev clutch gear down.
Not bad when you got used to it, but the 1st time you drove it, jeez 
What if the coach has a sleeping compartment for the drivers ?
I remember the ’ Clippers’ that ran from Newcastle to London had 2 drivers, there was a small sleeping compartment at the rear of the coach, they would switch drivers at Trowel.
I can tell you this from the horses mouth because I am currently sat in Austria on a trip with kids.
The driver that picks them up is the feeder, he will take it to the M20, perhaps Maidstone where it will then be handed over to a fresh eyed pair of drivers for the 21 hour to Austria.
The Royal Tiger appeared about 1983 and was Leyland’s answer to the likes of Volvo and so on, who did the same to the coach market around then as they did to the truck market. They were supposed to have been, like you say, the ‘big motor’ of their time. There is a firm around here that still runs one, on an E-plate.
Semi-auto boxes were a good enough idea as they prevented drivers from wrecking clutches, but when abused mercilessly on bus work they don’t last long. If driven properly they do, but when subjected to ‘powershift’ straight-through, accelerator down upshifts their lifetime is measured in months rather than years.
Van Hool coaches of today definitely have a sleeping compartment for the second man, directly in front of the front axle and accessible from both sides. It has a speaker and phone-type handset to communicate with the cabin.
ADR 1:
waynedl:
ADR 1:
All our school trips were in [zb] like this & I lived to tell the tale
How long ago was that?
I learnt to drive PSV in something similar to that - I actually learned in the Leopard, very similar but square lights at the front, crash gearbox and everything, it was great, a bloody flying machine - 80mph wasn’t a problem for it (on private roads)
^^^^^^
1970’s The pic above is of a Leopard, they had a semi automatic box (with a short stubby gear lever mounted on a post as far as I remember) the big motor of they day I think would have been the Leyland Royal Tiger
Ist Photo is a Leopard psu2b a 10mtr chassis. the 2nd photo is a Royal tiger Doyen 
to give its correct title. i know i had 3 of them. Great motors but under developed to be honest and bodies finished by Charles roe and in the summer no one could sit near the back. rear engined poor insulation and forced air vents.
I’d quite forgotten about the Doyen bit They were as ill fated as the Volvo C10M iirc.
Anyway,what we need now is a positive update from the OP. 
Ah the c10m. i had one when i was tm at Skidmarks sorry seamarks in Lutanistan years ago. great coach but to get body parts was near on impossible like the early berkoffs and Padane royal tiger we had. gorgeous motors lousy back up. give me a 760 reliance/plaxton elite3 any day of the week.
One co driver I worked with while doing Spain and South of France didn’t like Germans, or French, or Italians, or any nationality really. Don’t know why he drove coaches in mainland Europe in that case? Anyway, he was well known for carrying a box of massive firework style bangers in his briefcase and occasionally lobbing one out of the bunk window at passing cars, especially if they were one of the nationalities mentioned above, and especially if they were towing a caravan which he hated.
One evening, I was driving through France while he was on break down in the bunk, when suddenly there was a massive bang under the coach which startled all the passengers. I thought we had blown a tyre or something and pulled onto the hard shoulder. At the same time, the co driver emerged from the internal bunk hatch looking a bit sheepish. Apparently, he’d lit up a banger with his ■■■ and lobbed it out the window to catch a German artic he’d spotted, but the slipstream had blown the banger back in and he’d had to dive for cover under the duvet as his ‘grenade’ went off. We had to quickly come up with a cover story for the reason for the bang to placate the nervous passengers.
Another co driver liked to hang his bare arm out of the bunk window and leave it flapping in the slipstream, to wind up passing car drivers into thinking there was a dead body packed into the luggage compartment of the coach.
Also, it was quite good fun as you were passing a rival holiday company coach, for the second driver to go back and drop the on board chemical toilet by opening a valve. I didn’t take part in that particular type of ‘jape’, but I know drivers that did.
The joys of driving express holiday coaches down to the Med 
What colour was the coach?