Speeding, irresponsible school bus drivers

[barbeml]

If I had kids, I would be terrified to let them ride the school bus. I drive to and from work during peak school bus hours and I cannot believe what I am seeing.

1. My small residential street has on-street parking and the speed limit is only 15 mph--with good reason. The sight lines are poor due to curves, and we have young children, older folks and pets here. Yet, every morning and afternoon the school bus comes barreling down the road at around 45 mph.

2. I was driving past the school near my office the other day. School was letting out and kids were all over the place. A speeding school bus came up behind me in the 25 mph zone, tailgated me, then illegally sped past me and cut me off, barely missing some kids crossing the street.

3. The other morning, I was waiting at a light when a school bus full of kids came careening around the corner, nearly hitting me and two other cars. The driver was on his cell phone.

4. A couple of days ago, I was waiting at another intersection when a school bus full of kids came flying down the cross street and turned left going so fast that one side's wheels left the road.

Those of you with little ones might want to follow the bus once in a while to see what is going on, especially if you live in central NJ. Yikes!

 

[Serena]

May I suggest you get the bus numbers and dates, times, etc and call them in and report them.

 

[Indyman]

I agree with Serena. Get all pertinent information, including pictures if have to, and call the school district transportation department.

 

[Kristi1357]

Please notify the bus company! They may not know about this.

A friend of mine works for a local school bus company and they take matters like this very seriously. She told me she recently pulled a driver since other drivers would notice kids running around, not in seats, etc. while her bus was in motion. Unacceptable!

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Well those things aren't good, but I have one better.

A bus driver in Florida recently stopped the school bus and let the kids capture and load up an alligator onto the bus.

http://www.wesh.com/education/2911533/detail.html

 

[barbeml]

Wow, that alligator story is something.

I gotta tell you folks, these buses are moving so fast there is no way to get info. If I ever manage to catch a plate or number, I will attempt to report.

 

[4greatboys]

I call and resport tbe bus drivers I see driving like that. Seems like they have gotten a lot more aggressive than they used be. I have had more than one run a stop sign or just flat out pull out in front of me. Its jsut dangerous to drive like that.

 

[crazyme5kids]

Even if you can't get the bus number you can call the bus company and let them know about it. Just tell them the time of day and the street. They should be able to track down the driver of the bus by looking up the route.

 

[grinningghost]

We live right by a 4-way stop sign intersection, and I see school buses blowing right through them all the time. Calls to the bus garage don't seem to change anything.

 

[sharbear]

I would call the police dept. Our school is on a road that busses use to go to the local Catholic HS's (one girl's and one boy's). I occ. see a bus from a suburban school speeding through our school zone. I'll call the chief of police and have him call the bus garage.

A school bus driver should not be on his cell phone while operating a bus! Amazing!

 

[peg2001]

I live in East Tennessee (think narrow, winding, hilly streets) and it is not at all unusual to hear reports of school buses running off the road. We, too, witness the school bus speeding past our house in the morning.

I wouldn't have a child of mine ride ride one.

Peggy

 

[monarchsfan16]

Having ridden school busses for 10 years, it's just as terrifying to be on the bus. I've been on the bus when we were involved in accidents, and had other incidents. The driver once went barreling down a hill so fast he hardly made the corner at the bottom. We were maybe a foot from landing in the lake that is at the base of the hill. The list of adventures I've had on busses probably stretches, litterally for a mile or so. Unfortunately, unless the bus company is really wonderful, phone calls will not help. We've reported many drivers over the years, and some who were involved in accidents back in '96, with us on the bus, are still driving for the same company. School bus drivers drive as though they own the roads, as though nothing can happen to them, and as though they are the only people driving. It's really pathetic, because they really are responsible for the safety of many kids when they're driving. They shouldn't be driving worse then teenagers, but many do.

 

[Trish Bessette]

Sad story here in Vermont. A week before Christmas the bus was dropping off a Kindergarten boy and his mom was outside her home waiting for him. The boy slipped on ice and fell under the bus and the bus driver drove off, killing the 5 year old boy.

He was in court yesterday......

 

[barbeml]

These stories are appalling.

I doubt if reporting it would do any good here. NJ is so corrupt at every level, the bus companies probably got their contracts through rigged bids and are likely to be untouchable.

 

[goofy4tink]

My dd's bus driver routinely forgets which kids she has and takes the 4th-6th graders to the high school, which is about 3 miles from the intermediate school!! But, she does wait for my dd to actually be in the driveway before she moves that bus. I guess it's hard to get people to drive the buses. But, that's no excuse for bad driving. Report them!!! Our school board has asked for parents to do this whenever they see a problem with the buses.

 

[piratesmate]

Not reporting such poor driving as described here is a guarantee that nothing will be done. I would call the school, the bus garage - and if you really think nothing is being done - call the PTO, the police and the local news media. Somewhere along the line, someone will see that something is done.

 

[barbeml]

As I said, I would be able to make a report if they would slow down long enough for me to read the numbers. It's just a blur.

Plus, we now have a cell phone ban so I can't call from my car without getting fined.

 

[CEDmom]

Originally posted by barbeml
As I said, I would be able to make a report if they would slow down long enough for me to read the numbers. It's just a blur.

Plus, we now have a cell phone ban so I can't call from my car without getting fined.

The state cell phone ban doesn't go into effect until June. Anyway, you could still pull over and call. As a parent I really urge you to call the police and the bus company. You have enough details that they should be able to figure out the
driver(s) at fault. I think not doing anything is quite irresponsible.

 

[barbeml]

I don't appreciate being called "quite irresponsible."

IF I can get sufficient information to make an informed report, I will. I have called the police for a couple of other incidents in the area and the response is always "Well, there's really nothing we can do without more information."

 

[emmy]

AS a school busdriver I too urge you to call in any of these incidents. Our company policy is that we must go 5mph below the speed limit, can never move the bus without all students seated and all kids that are crossing wait for a "thumbs up" and we never move till children are safely out of our danger zones. It saddens me to hear these stories - as I know most of us take this responsibility very seriously and know how important every decision we make out on the road is.
I know at our bus terminal all complaints are dealt with immediately, and if for some reason they don't know which driver it is = it would be put out on the radios to all drivers that there is a problem.