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I have lived in many places and taken driver's exams quite a number of times and never ever seen one that didn't stress the importance (and the laws about) what to do around school buses (as a driver). There were always questions on the exams about how far back to follow a school bus, when you must stop and what to expect from how they are supposed to drive. Are there places these things are NOT covered at the licensing level?
And when raising my kids I scared the heck out of them (purposely) when it came to being anywhere near a road. If they ran in that direction while in the front yard, that was the one time they ever got a good smack on the behind. It made an impression. I usually only had to do it once. I also always made them hold my hand when anywhere near a street till they were at least 8 or 9 years old.
And if my child was going on a school bus they did not walk to or from the stop alone till they were teenagers. And I don't mean across the street from the stop .. TO the stop on the correct side of the road.
Helicopter parent? Normally not at all but you bet .. on this ONE score. I drive the roads .. I know what idiots are out there. I see how little they seem to care about the laws and courtesies of the road. And it seems much worse now than it ever has been sadly.
And, the time that the most incidents like this happen is usually when school starts in the fall - even drivers who may usually be cautious can forget since it has been a while since they saw a school bus on the road and new bus drivers aren't always as good as they may be later in the season either.
I am so sorry to hear there has been another child die because of bad drivers.
I have lived in many places and taken driver's exams quite a number of times and never ever seen one that didn't stress the importance (and the laws about) what to do around school buses (as a driver). There were always questions on the exams about how far back to follow a school bus, when you must stop and what to expect from how they are supposed to drive. Are there places these things are NOT covered at the licensing level?
And when raising my kids I scared the heck out of them (purposely) when it came to being anywhere near a road. If they ran in that direction while in the front yard, that was the one time they ever got a good smack on the behind. It made an impression. I usually only had to do it once. I also always made them hold my hand when anywhere near a street till they were at least 8 or 9 years old.
And if my child was going on a school bus they did not walk to or from the stop alone till they were teenagers. And I don't mean across the street from the stop .. TO the stop on the correct side of the road.
Helicopter parent? Normally not at all but you bet .. on this ONE score. I drive the roads .. I know what idiots are out there. I see how little they seem to care about the laws and courtesies of the road. And it seems much worse now than it ever has been sadly.
And, the time that the most incidents like this happen is usually when school starts in the fall - even drivers who may usually be cautious can forget since it has been a while since they saw a school bus on the road and new bus drivers aren't always as good as they may be later in the season either.
I am so sorry to hear there has been another child die because of bad drivers.
I did not know there is a certain length you're supposed to stay behind a bus.. I do as a point anyway, just like with other vehicles (which others seem to think is an invitation to get in front of me, so I have to slack off the gas to allow more room..). I'll have to check on that as I do not remember it from my test many years ago.
Many of the roads around here are very dangerous and I get anxious seeing the buses stop sometimes, because of how many vehicles "forget" to stop. And every time I see that and my kids are with me in the car, I point it out, along with what you ARE supposed to do. That will be the one thing I know they won't fail on their driver tests.
On the other side of things: in one area where we lived a couple of years ago, there is a quite-over-zealous short bus driver. I was turning into the entrance of an apartment complex, had already entered the driveway area when she zoomed in from the opposite direction, flipped her lights on (yellow, as they slow down) and actually started honking at me and gesticulating wildly out the window. (a) I was not even on that road anymore, (b) my turn could have been taken anyway had she already been stopped (it was a bit before the bus stop, but within hollering distance) and (c) she had not even stopped yet. I returned the favor of gesticulating wildly out the window.
She actually does that all the time. Even after moving away from the area, I've had to drive through there a couple of times and she seems to think that bus owns the road, even when her lights are not even on and she is going full speed. The only reason I haven't called Transportation to report her as menace is that she takes a lot of care and time to get her wheelbound passenger on and off the bus, plus it's probable that she thinks she's protecting him/her - I'm not going to potentially cause that to be taken away when a replacement might not care at all. I've seen some that couldn't care less.
When I complained to my local police about people running a certain red light in my neighborhood at a busy intersection my kids had to cross, they sent a police car for a couple of days, just to put a little fear into certain people.
Wish it was that way in my city, we just don't have enough officers to go around. That would be a 311 call here and if we're lucky they *might make a note of the situation. I keep seeing the suggestion that the bus park in a way to prevent traffic both ways. I bet many of our bus drivers wish they could do that to protect the children on their bus but it would be illegal here. I can see doing that on a rural road and getting away with it. Also the suggestion that the stop be on the same side where the kids live, we have so many apartment communities with kids living on both sides, it's impossible. Really, in a super busy dense area like mine "it takes a village". Drivers need to be aware and understand that their rush is not worth the potential loss of life. Parents and the bus drivers need to make it clear to children that they must look both ways, and not assume all drivers are going to obey the laws by stopping...and that many won't be paying any attention at all.
I did not know there is a certain length you're supposed to stay behind a bus.. I do as a point anyway, just like with other vehicles (which others seem to think is an invitation to get in front of me, so I have to slack off the gas to allow more room..). I'll have to check on that as I do not remember it from my test many years ago.
Many of the roads around here are very dangerous and I get anxious seeing the buses stop sometimes, because of how many vehicles "forget" to stop. And every time I see that and my kids are with me in the car, I point it out, along with what you ARE supposed to do. That will be the one thing I know they won't fail on their driver tests.
On the other side of things: in one area where we lived a couple of years ago, there is a quite-over-zealous short bus driver. I was turning into the entrance of an apartment complex, had already entered the driveway area when she zoomed in from the opposite direction, flipped her lights on (yellow, as they slow down) and actually started honking at me and gesticulating wildly out the window. (a) I was not even on that road anymore, (b) my turn could have been taken anyway had she already been stopped (it was a bit before the bus stop, but within hollering distance) and (c) she had not even stopped yet. I returned the favor of gesticulating wildly out the window.
She actually does that all the time. Even after moving away from the area, I've had to drive through there a couple of times and she seems to think that bus owns the road, even when her lights are not even on and she is going full speed. The only reason I haven't called Transportation to report her as menace is that she takes a lot of care and time to get her wheelbound passenger on and off the bus, plus it's probable that she thinks she's protecting him/her - I'm not going to potentially cause that to be taken away when a replacement might not care at all. I've seen some that couldn't care less.
you could always call the bus company and tell them about her driving....believe it or not, I saw a bus driver, with an empty school bus, but still, go thru a red light. I called and told them...
Wish it was that way in my city, we just don't have enough officers to go around. That would be a 311 call here and if we're lucky they *might make a note of the situation. I keep seeing the suggestion that the bus park in a way to prevent traffic both ways. I bet many of our bus drivers wish they could do that to protect the children on their bus but it would be illegal here. I can see doing that on a rural road and getting away with it. Also the suggestion that the stop be on the same side where the kids live, we have so many apartment communities with kids living on both sides, it's impossible. Really, in a super busy dense area like mine "it takes a village". Drivers need to be aware and understand that their rush is not worth the potential loss of life. Parents and the bus drivers need to make it clear to children that they must look both ways, and not assume all drivers are going to obey the laws by stopping...and that many won't be paying any attention at all.
We used to be able to call police and ask them to do drive by's while we are away, however, no more, they are too short of help.
I believe it is a good precautionary practice for the bus driver and parents to start training their kids to stop and look both ways....they should work along with the bus drivers....to do so, reminding the child as he/she gets off the bus, to do so....when I follow several buses home, I am horrified at how many kids actually dart right out after getting off the bus.
^^Agree. After all, the kid that almost got hit in that clip was older. Like the drivers, he should have known better.
I am shocked at how many people had no idea you were supposed to stop for a school bus, or how many feet behind the bus you need to stop, etc. Perhaps a few PSA announcemts, or maybe a lot of them, could be run on TV, radio, in the paper, etc about this when school starts up again in the fall.
I have lived in many places and taken driver's exams quite a number of times and never ever seen one that didn't stress the importance (and the laws about) what to do around school buses (as a driver). There were always questions on the exams about how far back to follow a school bus, when you must stop and what to expect from how they are supposed to drive. Are there places these things are NOT covered at the licensing level?
And when raising my kids I scared the heck out of them (purposely) when it came to being anywhere near a road. If they ran in that direction while in the front yard, that was the one time they ever got a good smack on the behind. It made an impression. I usually only had to do it once. I also always made them hold my hand when anywhere near a street till they were at least 8 or 9 years old.
And if my child was going on a school bus they did not walk to or from the stop alone till they were teenagers. And I don't mean across the street from the stop .. TO the stop on the correct side of the road.
Helicopter parent? Normally not at all but you bet .. on this ONE score. I drive the roads .. I know what idiots are out there. I see how little they seem to care about the laws and courtesies of the road. And it seems much worse now than it ever has been sadly.
And, the time that the most incidents like this happen is usually when school starts in the fall - even drivers who may usually be cautious can forget since it has been a while since they saw a school bus on the road and new bus drivers aren't always as good as they may be later in the season either.
I am so sorry to hear there has been another child die because of bad drivers.
It's not even idiots on the road. The bus stop near me is at a 3-way stop at the end of a power line easement that turns into what's basically a 4-way stop because parents drive up there and park there to wait. Since the easement is not a road, there are no lights there and children were running across into the easement area expecting people to see them. To make matters worse, the area is EXTREMELY humid in the mornings, so most people's windows are steamed up by the time they get to the bus stop. Since this is an (early) middle school stop that happens before sunrise for a good portion of the year, it is really dangerous.
This year the stop is even earlier than last year, but it sounds like someone must have listened to complaints and put in a stop at the other side of the road to stop everyone from running across.
Our local (free) paper that comes in the mail does send out reminders about bus laws at the beginning of each school year, but unfortunately it does not help the above issues where bus stops are in non-traditional intersections.
To the point of the OP, kids should always be tauhgt to look both ways (we were taught it in the 70's!!) and to keep looking as they cross.
I would also take a step further and teach kids (as I taught my own daughter) to let the bus go on before crossing the road. You cant see around the bus so if you cross in front you cant tell if some idiot is trying to go around the bus and if you cross behind you cant tell if some idiot blew through the stop sign.
I taught her as I was taught to always expect people to have their heads up their butt.
It's not even idiots on the road. The bus stop near me is at a 3-way stop at the end of a power line easement that turns into what's basically a 4-way stop because parents drive up there and park there to wait. Since the easement is not a road, there are no lights there and children were running across into the easement area expecting people to see them. To make matters worse, the area is EXTREMELY humid in the mornings, so most people's windows are steamed up by the time they get to the bus stop. Since this is an (early) middle school stop that happens before sunrise for a good portion of the year, it is really dangerous.
This year the stop is even earlier than last year, but it sounds like someone must have listened to complaints and put in a stop at the other side of the road to stop everyone from running across.
Our local (free) paper that comes in the mail does send out reminders about bus laws at the beginning of each school year, but unfortunately it does not help the above issues where bus stops are in non-traditional intersections.
I believe action should seriously be taken on this....I just posted this in my local neighborhood, and you would not believe the people posting that are seeing these traffic violations and more.....
I think the school boards should be notified, so that even teachers get in on this, and make a learning exercise out of it...
along with the bus companies....something has got to be done...
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