WWYD?--passing a school bus

[Amelia Peabody]

Actually I would be glad to receive a notice telling me that at such and such a time, the bus will be holding up traffic for 5 minutes. Not that I would consider passing a bus ( just wrong in so many ways ) but I would like to avoid being held up. For me 5 minutes isn't just a chunk of time, it's arriving on another road at a different time. Driving conditions change within minutes here. Am I making sense?

If you are looking for suggestions, I would not address the passing the bus issue, but focus on alerting the neighbors of the times. Just a friendly notice so they are aware they might be held up. You are showing concern for their schedules, how can they take offense at that?

Then report any of the pond scum that pass the bus.

 

[Carly_Roach]

For me 5 minutes isn't just a chunk of time, it's arriving on another road at a different time. Driving conditions change within minutes here. Am I making sense?

Yes. I travel a main street every morning. After 7:40am on each weekday, every two minutes it's impossible to turn right onto that road. It's because of the stoplight timing which isn't going to change. Drivers have to calculate very carefully because, in the 30 second space of time that the street is actually clear, others who've been waiting to turn left onto that street rush out as soon as they can. If you miss the 30 second window, you have to wait another two minutes for traffic to clear again.

I typically solve this by getting to that street before 7:40 in the morning. But there are some mornings when I miss the window and then have to do the jump-roap maneuver with other drivers trying to turn right onto that street.

So if I had to wait five minutes for a neighbor's school bus, then another four minutes for that road to come clear enough that I could turn onto it (probably with that same bus cozying up to my rear bumper), it would make me even later for work and angry at the neighbor who impacted my life this early in the morning.

 

[PaulaSue]

I would post signs right in front of your house and then if not stopped I would call the cops so one can sit there and remind your neighbors.

 

[Rebelmom67]

I have to agree with previous posters, 5 minutes is a long time to wait.

 

[freckles and boo]

Yes. I travel a main street every morning. After 7:40am on each weekday, every two minutes it's impossible to turn right onto that road. It's because of the stoplight timing which isn't going to change. Drivers have to calculate very carefully because, in the 30 second space of time that the street is actually clear, others who've been waiting to turn left onto that street rush out as soon as they can. If you miss the 30 second window, you have to wait another two minutes for traffic to clear again.

I typically solve this by getting to that street before 7:40 in the morning. But there are some mornings when I miss the window and then have to do the jump-roap maneuver with other drivers trying to turn right onto that street.

So if I had to wait five minutes for a neighbor's school bus, then another four minutes for that road to come clear enough that I could turn onto it (probably with that same bus cozying up to my rear bumper), it would make me even later for work and angry at the neighbor who impacted my life this early in the morning.

Cry me a river. I will trade a crappy commute for not having to put my kid on a "short" bus every day.

 

[lovetoscrap]

I would call the school transportation director and let them know that this is a huge problem and see what they say. And also I would probably contact the police and ask if they can patrol your street at that time a few days a week. After a few tickets they others will catch on.


Your neighbors are rude and reckless enough to pass a stopped school bus with the sign out then they deserve the consequences.

 

[kirbsam]

Yes. I travel a main street every morning. After 7:40am on each weekday, every two minutes it's impossible to turn right onto that road. It's because of the stoplight timing which isn't going to change. Drivers have to calculate very carefully because, in the 30 second space of time that the street is actually clear, others who've been waiting to turn left onto that street rush out as soon as they can. If you miss the 30 second window, you have to wait another two minutes for traffic to clear again.

I typically solve this by getting to that street before 7:40 in the morning. But there are some mornings when I miss the window and then have to do the jump-roap maneuver with other drivers trying to turn right onto that street.

So if I had to wait five minutes for a neighbor's school bus, then another four minutes for that road to come clear enough that I could turn onto it (probably with that same bus cozying up to my rear bumper), it would make me even later for work and angry at the neighbor who impacted my life this early in the morning.

you would be angry at the neighbor? haha good one. you almost had me believing it.

 

[Minnie]

I definitely would not send a flyer..... If you really have a problem with this then I would turn in the plates of the cars.

However - If the child does not cross the street and the door is open to your driveway then I really don't see the problem The local buses that pick up special needs kids pull to the curb and do not put out the stop sign - due to the extra time it takes to load the children - they are able to safely load the kids without stopping the flow of traffic

 

[LisaNJ25]

was the stop sign out? I know sometimes I see buses with and sometimes without. If there is no sign and no red lights I go by slowly.

The best thing is to see if cops could patrol more.

I will tell you by husband got a BS ticket a few months ago. He passed a school bus, they were going the opposite directions. Yellows were on so he went slow. As he was passing her she flipped on the reds and put the sign out. There was a cop behind him and he got a ticket.

 

[HighClass]

Sorry-In YOUR situation-where the door is at the end of YOUR driveway for only your son, I feel the bus driver should give these neighbors "a pass".

In any OTHER situation-of course drivers should stop for a loading school bus.

 

[happygirl]

I would post signs right in front of your house and then if not stopped I would call the cops so one can sit there and remind your neighbors.

I wouldn't post I was going to call the cops. I wouldn't want them to know who did it. The neighbors might seek revenge if they get a ticket

 

[minkydog]

I'd check the littering laws and handbill posting ordinances in your neighborhood before posting or leaving any flyers. People may feel as though your "Make an exception for me and/or my family" flyer is being preachy. They could go from just being annoyed at being inconvenienced every single morning to flat-out furious that you're now telling them they're wrong for feeling anger at being forced to wait every single morning while your son's life becomes everyone else's center of the Universe.

Get the license plates, be vigilent about getting the license plates, and let the police handle it. If it happens as often as you say it does, one of two things will happen:

1). The continual price and points that your neighbors have to pay will become cost prohibitive as opposed to having to wait five minutes every morning.

2). The situation may change where the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few and the bus may have to pull into your driveway instead of blocking traffic on the roadway.

I have to be honest with you here: having to wait five minutes (which is a LONG time during the morning rush commute) is something I'd do for a train or a car accident. Having to wait five minutes every single morning because of a neighbor's issue would make me a bit angry after several months of it. Getting a flyer from that neighbor wouldn't increase my understanding of their situation - it would probably just make me angrier.

Well, that's the reason I posted, because I don't want to stir up the neighbors. I do not have a "Make an exception for me and/or my family." The law is the same whether the bus is picking up 1 special needs child or 12 high school students(which would also take about 5 minutes.) As long as buses transport kids, somebody is going to be inconvienced.

I think since the majority of the neighborhood is law-abiding I might just leave a postcard on the mailbox when school starts giving them his pickup and dropoff times so they can decide for themselves whether they want to leave home 5 minutes early. No judgement, no pointing out the law. In general we have a law abiding neighborhood. I probably don't need to "preach" to those who aren't passing the school bus anyway. And the ones to are probably won't be moved by a flyer. Guess we'll have to let the chips fall where they may.

 

[luvmy3]

Sorry-In YOUR situation-where the door is at the end of YOUR driveway for only your son, I feel the bus driver should give these neighbors "a pass".

In any OTHER situation-of course drivers should stop for a loading school bus.

But the driver doesn't and that is not the OP's fault or decision to make. Since the driver is not giving them a pass, they are breaking the law by passing a stopped school bus. It does not matter what side of the road the door or stop is on, passing any stopped school bus IS illegal.

 

[minkydog]

Sorry-In YOUR situation-where the door is at the end of YOUR driveway for only your son, I feel the bus driver should give these neighbors "a pass".

In any OTHER situation-of course drivers should stop for a loading school bus.

The law is the law. I can't change that and neither can my neighbors. We have to stop for school buses because that's the law and it doesn't matter whether it's a short bus or a long bus. Yeah, I get aggravated when i get behind a school bus that has to stop at every puddle. But I don't get mad at their parents(what??) When I see buses I either go a differnet way or resign myself to going slower because that's the way it is.

 

[HighClass]

Something like this happens near my Health club at a gated Apartment complex-BUT the bus driver pulls into the area before the gate to load the hamdicapped kid. AND its a busy street-so that is courteous

YOU are on a cul-de-sac. I guess I see the other point of view here.

 

[eduk8r26]

I may be wrong, but I always thought that as long as kids did not have to cross the street to get on or off the bus, the flashing lights did not go on or the stop sign come out. I know if the lights are flashing in the rear, you have to stop.

 

[freckles and boo]

I may be wrong, but I always thought that as long as kids did not have to cross the street to get on or off the bus, the flashing lights did not go on or the stop sign come out. I know if the lights are flashing in the rear, you have to stop.

That isn't correct, at least here in Illinois. When children are loading or unloading, the stop arm goes out and the red lights go on. If a bus is struck by another vehicle during this time, the kids in the aisle, in the doorway, or standing by the curb could be seriously hurt or killed. Cars from all directions are required to stop unless there is a divided roadway with a physical barrier between the lanes. Only then can oncoming traffic continue. Cars moving in the same direction as the bus must stop.

 

[luvmy3]

I may be wrong, but I always thought that as long as kids did not have to cross the street to get on or off the bus, the flashing lights did not go on or the stop sign come out. I know if the lights are flashing in the rear, you have to stop.

My kids stop is on the side of the street that the door is on, when it stops the lights flash and the sign comes out. A driver doesn't always know where a kid is going to come from, there could be a kid walking to the stop from acroos the street who needs to run to catch his bus. What would happen to that kid if a car was legally allowed to pass? IT doesn't matter what side the school bus stop is in relation to the door. It is against the law to pass a school bus, that goes for drivers on both sides of the road.
I think the only time you do not have to stop is if you are on a divided road with an uncrossable median, but I could be totally wrong.

 

[Vixen]

if the bus stops at the end of your driveway and bus door is on your drive way side there should be no problem with your negihbors passing the bus. five min in a car is a long time especially when no one is going to cross the street.

 

[tiggger1]

if the bus stops at the end of your driveway and bus door is on your drive way side there should be no problem with your negihbors passing the bus. five min in a car is a long time especially when no one is going to cross the street.

but if they do it there what is to say they wont do it somewhere else?

Its Illegal to pass a bus for a reason...