How many kids are on your child's school bus? (Richmond: elementary school, college)

[Denton56]

Originally Posted by tamitrail

School buses are bad news. I don't know why they don't have better regulations. I would never put my kids on a school bus.

When was the last time a child died on a school bus in Fairfax county? When was the last time a child died in a car in Fairfax county? Your child is far safer on a school bus than in a car. Not to say you shouldn't drive your children to school, if you choose. But don't kid yourself, it's not safer. More kids die in car accidents than bus accidents.

[Denton56]

Why call a reporter when you can call your school principal and/or FCPS transportation department?

Many 6th graders weigh over 150 pounds? I've never seen, or met, such a child, but I suppose they exist. I seriously doubt that there are 'many' who weigh that much. Heck, my kids didn't weigh that much when they graduated from high school and my kids are 6 feet tall. In 6th grade, 11 years old, they probably didn't top 90 pounds.

[car54]

I'm sort of against parents driving kids to school...and not because I'm a bus driver.

I think "commuting" to school is part of a kid's education. Learning to get up and get their asses to the bus stop is good practice for the real world. Unless they're trust fund babies, they're going to have to get used to the rat race eventually anyway, right?

[barryhussein]

Originally Posted by car54

Three kids to a seat is how the bus manufacturers have always rated bus capacity, but everybody involved knows that is unrealistic. Our "78 passenger" buses really only hold 52 (two to a seat)....unless it's a kindergarten field trip or something.

About the apartment/TH parents being neglected, I don't think so because even if the parents don't complain...the drivers WILL. It's no picnic driving an overloaded bus and a driver can refuse without repercussions. They always tell us that the ultimate decision on safety lies with the driver.

I don't know specifically about FCPS 54. I do know, that where I worked, it was probationary (as in new, not judicial) drivers, who got stuck with the worst routes in the worst neighborhoods, usually sec. 8 apartment complexes or semi-slum townhomes. They would keep telling us about the 78 number, and this not only included K, but went thru grade 6.

As for the poster who writes about the nominal amount of adult size 6th graders; I would advise hiom to read one of a million articles on child obesity. He has probably never seen an 8th grader driving to school, or an 8th grader, who would commit first degree murder/armed robbery, either. It ain't like High School Musical, where adult midgets play the parts of High School Students. Some of these kids have enough blubber to fuel a freight train.

[fnord]

Originally Posted by barryhussein

There are many sixth graders weighing over 150 pounds. Three kids to a seat means the seat backs will not protect the students on the edge of the seats.

Wow, really? Maybe your school district should contact the Walt Disney Corporation, which has currently closed its "It's A Small World" ride to reconfigure the entire operation to accommodate American gundyguts.

Age 11, 150 pounds? Huh. I weighed around 65 pounds at that age, twenty years ago.

[tamitrail]

Originally Posted by car54

Nonsense. School buses are the most regulated vehicles on the road. They are also the safest. According to the National Safety Council statistics, school buses are 40 times safer than the family car.

Here is a site with everthing you ever wanted to know about school buses:
School Bus Transportation News at STN Media


My retirement gig is driving a bus for FCPS. We transport 110,000 students a day on 1500 buses. Can you imagine how much worse traffic would be if all those kids were in cars?

Overloads do occur however, especially during the first couple weeks of school. Route technicians simply don't know exact passenger loads until school starts.

FCPS is very sensitive to parental concerns, and if you feel that your kid's bus is overcrowded, call Transportation and they will fix it. Just today, they added two stops to my high school run to relieve an overloaded bus. With 236 schools, bus routing is incredibly complicated and absolutely requires some tweaking in the early weeks of the school year.

PS: If you do drive your kid to school, please be careful! In my 5 years driving a bus I've been backed into or rammed 8 times by parents. If a FCPS school bus is touched by another vehicle, the police MUST be called to investigate.....and you will be seriously late to wherever you're going next.

Yeah, sure. Stories of kids getting beat up..stories of kids fighting with the bus driver. No seat belts....why does my kid need a booster seat or car seat in the car, but he can sit freely on a bus? I'm going to trust ONE bus driver and maybe one aid to watch 70 kids. Yeah, uh huh.

[tamitrail]

Originally Posted by Denton56

When was the last time a child died on a school bus in Fairfax county? When was the last time a child died in a car in Fairfax county? Your child is far safer on a school bus than in a car. Not to say you shouldn't drive your children to school, if you choose. But don't kid yourself, it's not safer. More kids die in car accidents than bus accidents.

Last time I checked, my kid wasn't getting beat up in my car. I am talking about all over, not just Fairfax county.

[Denton56]

And this happened in FCPS when?

I think it's great that you drive your kids to school, but not everyone can afford that luxury. 99.99% of the time, the buses are fine. Kids learn a lot of socialization skills on the bus. Peer pressure can be a good thing.

[barryhussein]

The City of Denver (Colorado) expiermented with seat belts in the mid 80's. They found the students were using the seat belts as weapons, and their liability insurance carrier was hit with a flurry of lawsuits. The high seat backs are meant for the student to absorb the impact of a crash more evenly on his/her body. A seatbelt would put much more stress directly on the neck, resulting in more severe injury. But if the students are on the edge of their seat, they will not be protected, and will become a projectile.
http://transportation.dpsk12.org/OperatingProcedures/TabCCSeatbelt.pdf (broken link)

[tamitrail]

Originally Posted by Denton56

And this happened in FCPS when?

I think it's great that you drive your kids to school, but not everyone can afford that luxury. 99.99% of the time, the buses are fine. Kids learn a lot of socialization skills on the bus. Peer pressure can be a good thing.

My kids don't need to sit on a bus to learn socialization skills.