Bus driver drops a 5yo off at bus stop with no adult

[Disney1fan2002]

It is a State law here in Mass that in order for the bus driver to drop a kindergartener off, they need to SEE an adult who is home.

It was in the paper, a mom got stuck in a major traffic jam, due to an accident where they closed the road, so she called her sister to go to the bus stop. Well, the sister got stuck in the same traffic. (it ended up being a huge traffic jam, for miles. so, the mom tried to call the school to inform them she would not be able to meet the bus. But there was no answer at the school. Figuring the bus driver would just bring her daughter back to the school once she saw nobody was home, she did not worry too much.(other than the tiny bit of stress that goes along with thinking your kid is going to feel abandoned) Imagine her HORROR to find her daughter was dropped off. A neighbor saw the girl standing alone, so she went and got her, and kept her until the mom finally got home. The bus dropped her off I think 3PM, and the mom got home at 4:30.

OK, I am sorry but HEADS WOULD ROLL on this one! The mom told the newspaper the supervisor of the bus company told her she was over-reacting and HUNG UP ON HER!

Can you imagine????

 

[Jennifer S]

I would be really upset if I was that mom. I know hindsight is 20/20 but she should get a neighbor as back up just in case. Sounds like the sister lives too far. My kids would be a wreck if no one was there to meet them. That poor child.

That bus driver should be FIRED!!

 

[Skywalker]

Thank God for the neighbour. That sounds like a tragedy waiting to happen. I would be outraged.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

I would be really upset if I was that mom. I know hindsight is 20/20 but she should get a neighbor as back up just in case. Sounds like the sister lives too far. My kids would be a wreck if no one was there to meet them. That poor child.

That bus driver should be FIRED!!

Actually, it was a case of the sister living too CLOSE. She got stuck in the same trafiic the mom was in.

I am sure she took the neighbors numbe for future reference.

It is a shame we live in a world where that your neighbors are strangers.

 

[Jennifer S]

Actually, it was a case of the sister living too CLOSE. She got stuck in the same trafiic the mom was in.

I am sure she took the neighbors numbe for future reference.

It is a shame we live in a world where that your neighbors are strangers.

You are right. I know every neighbor on my street and there are at least five families that would get my kids if I called. It's too hard to rely on someone that has to drive to come get them. My back up is my next door neighbor.

 

[binny]

oh yeah, heads would roll here too.

 

[Spinning]

This has been my biggest fear! Where I live I can't rely on neighbors to get my kids if I can't. I only have 4, one works full time, one is 91 the other is 86 and the other one is 89.
Luckily the 91 year old said the kids should just go straight to his house He can't walk that far!

Thank goodness the kids was ok and someone did get her. I know when my kids were that small they wouldn't let the child off the bus unless they saw an adult that they knew! Our bus driver questioned my DD once when my step dad was waiting for her. Just to be sure!

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

I'd be very upset. I was VERY lucky to have a wonderful bus driver for my kids up until last year (and my youngest is now almost 13). My kids are dropped off at the foot of the driveway, and if she didn't see my car out there, she'd wait until they knocked on the door and got a response. When my oldest DD was sick a few years ago, and we were spending a lot of time at the hospital, the bus driver got permission from the bus company to take my DS on the earlier high school and middle school busses so we could leave the house earlier, and told me that if I wasn't home at the end of the day, she'd just take the other two kids home with her. She was a godsend.

As for neighbors...because of where we live, nobody would ever see that my kids were alone.

 

[jacksonsmom]

I wish it was a state law here that Kindergarteners can't be let off the bus without an adult.
I am so jealous of reading some of your good bus driver stories. My son just started K last month and it has been a headache. Including one time she didn't even stop at his bus stop even though I was outside (claimed she didn't see me and the 3 other children that was suppose to get off at that stop)!!!
So she let them all off, including my son, at the next stop which is a busy street. I was so ticked off!!! Thankfully the older neighbor boy (3rd gr) who lives across the street from us told my son to get off and walk back with him.
Btw--I hopped in my van and met them just as they were turning the corner and the bus was leaving.

I went round and round with the bus compnay. I got the feeling that they think I overacted too.

 

[piratesmate]

If it's a state law that they can't drop the kids off without seeing an adult, then not only was the mom not over-reacting, the bus company was in violation of the law! Why are there no consequences for this? How can the bus company just get away with it? Something doesn't sound right to me....unless the law stipulates that there are no consequences, in which case it's pointless!

DD didn't take the bus in Kindergarten as she went to a full day program at a day care center, so I don't know what happens around here. However, in 1 through 3rd grade there were times that the driver (usually a sub) would forget to drop off DD. They always drove around the block (big, country blocks) to drop her off.

 

[Barb D]

I knew I'd seen a thread about this, so I went searching for it.

This just happened to us yesterday, and I'm trying to find out if there's a written policy about it here. I DO have multiple back ups, but I knew DS14 was home and ready to get DD6 off the bus. He says the bus came early; he heard it go by our house (it passes our house after the bus stop), ran outside, and saw DD6 already standing at the bus stop. The driver had just dropped her off.

We now have yet another back up plan. If DD doesn't see someone at the bus stop waiting for her, she is to stay on the bus until the next stop where I know there's another mom waiting for her child.

But I STILL want to find out whether the school system thinks it's OK to leave a Kindergartner standing by the side of the road. I'm waiting for the school to call me back.

Edit: The assistant principal called back, and is taking it seriously. She's going to talk to DD and the bus driver.