Reckless Driving--passed a stopped school bus! (house, live, dangerous)

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by Newbee_0711

Carlingtonian
When I didn't have kids I also thought bad parents raise stupid kids. But now I am a parent, and I learned that there is no such concept as a 'stupid kid', there is just a 'kid'. And a kid can do very stupid things from our, adults', points of view, such as dashing in front of a car without looking. Younger kids tend to do this more often that older kids. And believe me being late for work is nothing compared to hitting a young child with your car. That's why they have the 'school bus rule', that's why they have school signs near schools, and that why they have 'child at play' signs.

Drivers have to wait 5-10 minutes for a schools bus? Tough. Wait. We wait longer when the president passes with his motorcade.

I'm in my 50's and have never waited anywhere close to 5 minutes at a stop for a school bus. Even one letting on/off a disabled child. I can BS.

[JanND]

Originally Posted by made-a-mistake

I live in Herndon Virginia. I am a mom of three kids all under the age of 7. I have been driving since 1994 and I've NEVER gotten a ticket. I have both my New York and Virignia driving record abstracts to prove it. I have always prided myself on being a very cautious, law abiding driver. But...

On Monday, after picking up my 4 year old from preschool, I was driving in a 25 miles per hour zone on a 4 lane road (2 northbound, 2 southbound), I was concentrating on my speed and talking to my daughter in my rear view mirror about her day. I didn't notice that a school bus going in the opposite direction had stopped and had it's red lights on. It was a distracted moment, that I am so sorry that happened! I got pulled over and was given a ticket for wreckless driving: passing a stopped school bus. By the time the officer came back to my car, I was already crying. My children were crying, because I was crying and it was a very bad moment. I feel so fortunate that no children were hurt or crossing at the time, and I fully understand the ramifications of what I did. I know intent is not an issue when it comes to traffic law, but I'm beating myself up for my honest mistake in a big way!

I think I should be punished for what I did. I will "fall on the sword" and take what I get like a big girl. But does a C-1 misdemeanor seem appropriate in my case? Is the judge going to send a soccer mom who drives a minivan to jail for what was an unfortuante, terribly regretable incident? I'm scared...no, more like terrified!

Please help me!

You talked to an attorney?? Here a reckless w/ regards to ins. is almost the same as a dui, your rates will adjust. Maybe an attorney will be able to get it reduced, worth a try.

[spleuchan]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

OK, I've been restraining myself for hours, but now I'm just gonna say it: Why do we have this ridiculous law that says we can't pass school buses? In other countries, you're allowed to pass them, just slowly.

Shouldn't kids be looking both ways before crossing the street? And oh yeah, not jaywalking? If your kid runs out blindly from the front side of a bus into oncoming traffic, guess what: Your kid is stupid. And/or you're a bad parent.

Yes, I know I'm being a hypocrite and that the minute we have a kid, I'll be all for this law. But in the meantime, it's SO annoying to have to wait for all these little varmints to offload themselves.

And why do school buses always stop on a major thoroughfare, instead of pulling off onto a side street, so that they're out of the way of most people?

Didn't get enough attention at work today comment? Let's hope so.

[made-a-mistake]

Yes, I have hired an attorney. He said that he doesn't really see this going beyond just an infraction ticket. I've been driving for 18 years and never pulled over. I can't be the only one who has ever done this. I'm not looking for people to excuse what I did. But I am sort of hoping that the "court of public opinion" won't stone me for being human. I will tell you that I am a bit paranoid since this happened. The police officer who pulled me over drove into my cul-de-sac today. For what reason, I have no idea--but we made eye contact and he was driving the same unmarked car as the one that pulled me over. I walked to the school to pick up my children today because I was afraid to drive my car. I feel like a criminal for what was really an honest mistake. It shouldnt have happened, and I feel HORRIBLE about it. There must be someone out there who has done worse than me. Isn't there?

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

I'm in my 50's and have never waited anywhere close to 5 minutes at a stop for a school bus. Even one letting on/off a disabled child. I can BS.

But maybe you're a more efficient bus driver than some others. Surely you don't think that because you've never taken that long, no one else has. The worst time was waiting behind a bus in Seven Corners, on Patrick Henry just north of Route 50, where it turns into John Marshall before connecting to Wilson Blvd. For some reason, the driver had chosen that street to offload the kids. I kid you not, it was at least 5 minutes. Had he only turned right onto whatever the little street is that goes into the apartments there, everything would've gone smoothly.

Again: I'm not averse to waiting a reasonable amount of time. (And if it was for a good reason, like offloading a disabled kid, I wouldn't care how long it took.) But courtesy goes both ways, you know? By which I mean: Parents, get your kids on/off the bus and quit jawing with the driver.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by made-a-mistake

Yes, I have hired an attorney. He said that he doesn't really see this going beyond just an infraction ticket. I've been driving for 18 years and never pulled over. I can't be the only one who has ever done this. I'm not looking for people to excuse what I did. But I am sort of hoping that the "court of public opinion" won't stone me for being human. I will tell you that I am a bit paranoid since this happened. The police officer who pulled me over drove into my cul-de-sac today. For what reason, I have no idea--but we made eye contact and he was driving the same unmarked car as the one that pulled me over. I walked to the school to pick up my children today because I was afraid to drive my car. I feel like a criminal for what was really an honest mistake. It shouldnt have happened, and I feel HORRIBLE about it. There must be someone out there who has done worse than me. Isn't there?

You're just being paranoid now. The officer is assigned to the area where you are and now that you've met him you'll recognize him more often. He was not looking for you or anything. And for your lawyer. What's he talking about an infraction ticket? It's already just a traffic violation. Granted it's one that carries more of a severe penalty than the others but still.

[car54]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

But maybe you're a more efficient bus driver than some others. Surely you don't think that because you've never taken that long, no one else has. The worst time was waiting behind a bus in Seven Corners, on Patrick Henry just north of Route 50, where it turns into John Marshall before connecting to Wilson Blvd. For some reason, the driver had chosen that street to offload the kids. I kid you not, it was at least 5 minutes. Had he only turned right onto whatever the little street is that goes into the apartments there, everything would've gone smoothly.

Again: I'm not averse to waiting a reasonable amount of time. (And if it was for a good reason, like offloading a disabled kid, I wouldn't care how long it took.) But courtesy goes both ways, you know? By which I mean: Parents, get your kids on/off the bus and quit jawing with the driver.

You are quite mistaken that bus loading delays are caused by drivers chatting with parents. 1. very few parents approach the bus 2. many don't speak English (then again, a lot of drivers don't either...LOL) 3. many parents feel that the drivers are beneath them.

Now, the REAL problem is that we are not allowed to take off with students standing in the aisle...y'know, they might fall down and stuff. I have an elementary stop with 35 students at ONE stop. If you think it's easy to get that many kids seated, I hope to tell you, it ain't. This kid wants to sit with that kid...some want a seat all to themselves and won't slide over...some are lugging band instruments that get stuck between. Kids get drawstrings hung up on other kids....this morning, I had THREE kindergartners accidentally hooked together and screaming! Even so, I'm not buying 5 minute bus stops....the only time I ever was stopped that long, a child had stopped breathing...you just don't know is going on inside a bus...

It gets much worse than that....we have bus stops that take THREE buses to pick up that one stop.

Our buses don't just show up whenever....they are on tight schedules. My stop times don't vary by more than a minute under normal conditions. If a huge stop is holding you up....leave a few minutes earlier or later.

Oh and drivers don't "choose" where to unload. Routing is done in the Central office and woe be to the driver that deviates from the designated stops. All our buses are equipped with GPS-based tracking systems....management knows exactly where and when that door opens. I know drivers that have been fired for making unathorized stops (which is ANYWHERE other than where they tell you to).

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by car54

Oh and drivers don't "choose" where to unload. Routing is done in the Central office and woe be to the driver that deviates from designated stops. All our buses are equipped with GPS-based tracking systems....management knows exactly where and when that door opens. I know drivers that have been fired for making unathorized stops (which is ANYWHERE other than where they tell you to).

But why on a major road? Why doesn't central office choose stops that are not on major roads. I'm sure that there are some places where it can't be helped, but it seems there are plenty that could be around the corner on a side street.

[car54]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

My mechanic and I were discussing this last Saturday when he did my oil change. When I grew up in Texas in the 1980s, there were no school buses. Zero. You either walked to school, rode your bike, or someone (most likely Mom) dropped you off. When he grew up in the '60s in Fairfax--he went to George Marshall HS--and in NC before that, same deal.

FCPS bought it's first (motorized) school bus in 1928....by the 60's the fleet was nearly one thousand buses. Marshall High School most definitely had bus transportation in the 60's if one lived beyond the "walking zone".

Interestingly, back then they allowed high school seniors to drive school buses! Can you imagine that, with today's kids? LOL

[car54]

Originally Posted by spencgr

I've had my commute delayed by up to 20 minutes because I was behind a bus who made three or four of these 5 minute stops. One lane, no ability to pass.

If that driver has spots where they're not blocking the road (turn lanes, etc) and they're allowing traffic to back way up...shame on them.

If I'm off the road and my kids are safely aboard, I turn out the lights and let everybody go....then I proceed. Not always possible, but I always do it when it is.

My reason: The more enraged people get, the more dangerous they can be. I let 'em go, so they don't kill one of my kids down the road...