Break or brake?

This morning I started work in a very cold coach. The temperatures have dropped again and since our coaches are all parked outside, the inside was nearly as cold as the outside. It's a good thing I can put the heating in my chair on. A warm back and warm behind. Mmmm. Anyway, enough about my warm buns.

I started driving and within a few minutes I realised something was wrong. Now, my demolition colleague had driven my coach yesterday, so I thought perhaps he had been at it again (he wasn't by the way). So, what was wrong? Well, the brakes were a bit soppy. The coach came to a stop, but I felt it needed more than it did last Friday. I managed to pick up the people and take them to where they were supposed to go. I then drove back to the garage to get the brakes checked out. After all, it might only be frozen brakes!

Well, the brakes weren't frozen. One of the brakes was broken. Not working at all. I shouldn't have driven! It was a good thing I know my coach, am not a pushy driver (well...) and the weather was good. I had to leave my coach in the garage and tomorrow I drive a colleague's coach.

When I got back to the lot this afternoon, my colleague was there. I told him about the problems with my brakes and he said: hey, I had problems today as well! My heart sank. When he described his problems, they were exactly like the ones I had. So, tomorrow I will be (carefully) driving his coach to the garage, picking up yet another one and doing my day's work. At the end of the day, I will have to drive that one back and pick up my own.

Now before you wonder about the state of our coaches: my colleagues had no problems with the brakes yesterday. But the weather has been very wet (snow, fog) and cold lately. Those two things combined can cause problems very quick! I am just happy I found out today and not while I was driving down a mountain like last week...