Operation of buses is prohibited if:

Explanation

In both cases; a bus must carry two fire extinguishers, and the "Emergency Stop" sign is mandatory as well.

For a bus, the minimum number of fire extinguishers is two; so having only one counts as a shortfall and prohibits operation. The logic of the number two is access: one extinguisher must be near the driver and the other in the passenger compartment, because a fire may start in the engine bay or inside the compartment, and an extinguisher left behind the flames effectively does not exist. Add to this that one extinguisher may be empty or defective, and in a fire there is no opportunity to try again.

The "Emergency Stop" sign is an independent item of mandatory equipment. Its function comes into play the moment the bus is left standing on the carriageway through a breakdown or a collision: the sign is placed at a suitable distance behind the vehicle so that an approaching driver, especially at night, on a bend or over a crest, sees the obstacle before he sees the bus itself and can slow in time. Without it, a stationary bus on an intercity road becomes an obstacle that is seen far too late in the dark.

Memorise the bus's mandatory equipment list as a whole: two fire extinguishers, two wheel chocks, a first-aid kit and an emergency stop sign. Any shortfall on this list is a ground for prohibition on its own.

• One fire extinguisher really is below the required number, but choosing it alone leaves aside the absence of the emergency stop sign. • The absence of the "Emergency Stop" sign is independently an offence too, but it is not the only fault raised in the question.

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