63.5. Is the trolleybus driver allowed to sell tickets to passengers while driving?
UAЧи дозволено водієві тролейбуса продавати пасажирам квитки під час руху?
Question without image
This is an exam question from the Traffic Rules of Ukraine concerning passenger transportation safety and driver discipline while driving. For public transport, any distraction from driving is especially dangerous: the driver must promptly respond to changes in the road situation, avoid sudden maneuvers and braking, since there are passengers standing or moving inside the vehicle who may lose their balance.
The question tests the section of the Traffic Rules regarding the duties and prohibitions for the driver, primarily the requirement of point 2.3 (b) to be attentive and not to be distracted from driving on the road. Selling tickets while driving forces the driver to divert attention to money, tickets, and communication, which contradicts this principle. Additionally, the logic of the restrictions is confirmed by point 2.9 (f), which demonstrates the general approach of the Traffic Rules: while driving, not to perform extraneous actions that occupy the hands and attention.
Analysis of the options for the theoretical exam: the statement that this is allowed does not meet the requirements for preventing driver distraction and the norms for passenger transportation; references to “rush hour” also have no legal basis, since heavy traffic only increases risks and does not cancel the driver’s duties. The only correct conclusion follows from the requirements of the traffic rules and the rules for providing transport services: ticket sales cannot be carried out while driving so as not to create a safety hazard.
Clause 2.3 (subclause "b") — Driver's Duties
To ensure road safety, the driver is obliged to: "be attentive, monitor the traffic situation, respond appropriately to its changes, monitor the proper placement and securing of cargo, the technical condition of the vehicle, and not be distracted from driving this vehicle while on the road."
Brief application: selling tickets while driving is an action that distracts the driver from operating the vehicle on the road, which contradicts this requirement of the Traffic Rules.
Clause 2.9 (subclause "d") — Prohibitions for the Driver
The driver is prohibited: "while driving a vehicle, to use communication devices while holding them in hand (except for drivers of emergency vehicles while performing urgent official duties)."
Brief application: although the clause directly concerns communication devices, it reflects the general principle of the Traffic Rules regarding the inadmissibility of performing extraneous actions with hands/attention while driving, which in essence coincides with actions such as selling tickets while in motion.
Therefore, the correct answer is "Prohibited," given that, according to the definition of the Traffic Rules, the driver is obliged not to be distracted from driving the vehicle on the road, and selling tickets while driving constitutes a distraction from driving.
While the trolleybus is in motion, the driver must continuously monitor the traffic situation, operate the vehicle, and ensure the safety of passengers and other road users. Any actions that distract from driving create a risk of delayed reaction to changes in the road situation.
Selling tickets to passengers while driving is exactly such a distracting action: the driver is forced to shift attention to money, tickets, and communication, rather than to the road. This can lead to missing an obstacle, sudden braking, dangerous maneuvers, or passengers falling inside the vehicle.
That is why the rules for providing passenger road transport services establish the requirement that the trolleybus driver must not sell tickets while driving. Ticket sales are allowed only when it does not affect safe driving, that is, not while the vehicle is in motion.
Therefore, the correct answer is "Prohibited," since the trolleybus driver is forbidden from selling tickets while driving in order not to be distracted from driving and not to create a safety hazard.