WWYD?--passing a school bus

[Kycha]

Actually it's not aganist the law if the stop sign isn't out

Actually, laws vary by state. But, my understanding is if the red lights are flashing then there is no passing. Whether or not the stop sign is out. Many school buses in this area are not equipped with the stop sign.

 

[minkydog]

Okay, I see the point of not putting out flyers. I didn't think about that it would just irritate the neighbors.

We always have Christian out on the driveway, ready to go. And if he's not ready, I go down there and tell the bus driver to go on, I'll just bring him to school myself rather than expect her to hold up traffic.

There is only one road in & out of my subdivision. The bus comes on the dot at 8:30 & 4:20, with very few exceptions. I can just about set my watch by the bus.

This have really been an epiphany to me. I just realized that I have to expect the neighbors to be adults. They can either time their leaving home better or just sit there and wait. The bus driver is perfectly capable of handling those who persist in driving around the bus.

 

[tiggger1]

found this at the American school bus council website

Laws in all 50 states require that drivers stop when the red lights are flashing indicating that the school bus is loading or unloading passengers. It is never legal to pass a school bus from behind when the red lights are flashing, and it is generally illegal to pass such a school bus when traveling in the opposite direction. In a few states, it is legal to pass a stopped school bus with flashing red lights when traveling in the opposite direction on a divided highway. The school bus is the only vehicle other than police and fire/rescue vehicles that can legally stop traffic.

 

[HighClass]

No, they don't park in the driveway. The bus parks at the end of the driveway in the street. Our school district mandates that the bus not be required to back up into the street.

After bus pick-up they drive to the end of the street(very short distance) and make a circle in the culdesac before driving out of the neighborhood.

To me this means the bus is facing the "dead end" circle of the cul-de-sac-correct?

So your issue is not drivers passing the bus going in the same direction, it is the people at the end of the cul-de-sac leaving their homes-in the opposite lane-right?

 

[kaytieeldr]

I think since the majority of the neighborhood is law-abiding I might just leave a postcard on the mailbox

Your streetside mailbox, or each neighbor's mailbox? I wouldn't recommend the latter. If you choose to notify each neighbor individually via their respective mailboxes, you will need to put postage on the cards and send them via the USPS.

But it's ENTIRELY reasonable to put up a sign on your own property, alerting drivers of the "school bus stop times" (well, assuming zoning allows it )

Too, the suggestion in this thread from a bus driver, about having your son's bus driver back INTO your driveway, is worth researching.

 

[Disney Doll]

Truthfully, minky, you are trying to be really nice to neighbors who don't seem to give a damn about your kid.

Bottom line...passing a school bus with the red lights flashing is illegal. I don't care of it takes 5 minutes or 5 hours to load a kid onto the bus. I don't care how much of a hurry they are in, I don't care about anything other than the fact that they are passing a school bus illegally and could potentially KILL a child.

If they do something illegal and the driver catches their license plates and turns them in...not your problem, quite frankly.

And no, I don't have children...at all. But I do stop for buses. All buses...short or long. And so should everyone else.

 

[laurie31]

Okay, I see the point of not putting out flyers. I didn't think about that it would just irritate the neighbors.

We always have Christian out on the driveway, ready to go. And if he's not ready, I go down there and tell the bus driver to go on, I'll just bring him to school myself rather than expect her to hold up traffic.

There is only one road in & out of my subdivision. The bus comes on the dot at 8:30 & 4:20, with very few exceptions. I can just about set my watch by the bus.

This have really been an epiphany to me. I just realized that I have to expect the neighbors to be adults. They can either time their leaving home better or just sit there and wait. The bus driver is perfectly capable of handling those who persist in driving around the bus.

to the bolded!

You can set time by my dd's bus too. She gets home at 3:32. I don't know HOW the driver does it - lol. Anyway, I'm in the "let the police handle it" camp. The neighbors will never know if the bus driver called or if it was just their "bad luck" that the police happened to be there...

I don't like getting stuck behind busses either, but as everyone's said, it's no big secret what time they run. There is an apartment complex I *know* not to go near around 3:15, because the bus will be letting 20-30 kids off there, and it takes FOREVER for them to all get off the bus. I know darn good and well what time that bus is out, and if I get stuck behind it, I have only myself to blame. I know what time I need to leave to avoid it. Honestly, though, I don't get angry with anyone (but me) about it, and I'd never consider passing a stopped school bus. VERY dangerous! Even if the child doesn't have to cross the street, what if the child dropped a paper and it blew into the road, or anything could happen to cause a child to dart into the street. I realize the OP's son isn't going to be doing that, but it's not up to the idiots passing the bus to know that.

 

[happygirl]

I have never seen a bus with flashing red lights that didn't have a stop sign

 

[Kycha]

I have never seen a bus with flashing red lights that didn't have a stop sign

I rode a school bus from kindergarten to 12th grade and not one of the dozen or so I rode on buses had a stop sign. In this area, the school bus stop sign is a relatively new thing. I'd say it's only been around for the last 10 years. And like I said before, not all of the buses have a stop sign. But they all have red and yellow lights. And the lights are what indicate whether or not you can pass, not the stop sign.

 

[okeydokey]

Personally I would appreciate a note at the beginning of the year telling me the times so that I could be sure to arrange my schedule to avoid those times. I think it's nice of you to think of it.

 

[minkydog]

To me this means the bus is facing the "dead end" circle of the cul-de-sac-correct?

So your issue is not drivers passing the bus going in the same direction, it is the people at the end of the cul-de-sac leaving their homes-in the opposite lane-right?

Yes, that would be correct. My subdivision is U-shaped. My house is at the upper end of the left arm of the U, which is the way in and out. There are two culdesacs at the bottom of the U. The bus turns around in the first culdesac and therefore does not have to back up in the street. So all of the people who have passed the bus have done so facing the bus. When a student is entering the bus the car drivers cannot see the child and therefore do not know where he/she is.

We *never* allow DS to walk outside unattended. And when we see the bus come we back up the driveway and keep both hands on him. He's a 14 year old with the mind of an active 1 year old--he has no sense of danger or safety. We're just trying to keep him safe any way we can.

 

[DisneySaver28]

Do the five minutes it takes your son to get on the bus include him walking from the house to the street? If so, I could understand why a neighbor would pass the bus that's blocking the only way out. If the know that your son is the only child on the bus and can see him slowly walking down the driveway, I can understand why some people might get frustrated.

 

[luvsmickeymouse]

As a school bus driver I see this often, and sometimes it happens so fast, that we can't get the plate number. Everytime you see this happen, turn the plate in. In our town before our manager can call in a plate, we need, the plate number, the make of the car and color and whether the driver is a male or female. That is alot to do while we are picking up and dropping off kids. So we need help with this.

 

[minkydog]

Do the five minutes it takes your son to get on the bus include him walking from the house to the street? If so, I could understand why a neighbor would pass the bus that's blocking the only way out. If the know that your son is the only child on the bus and can see him slowly walking down the driveway, I can understand why some people might get frustrated.

No, he's on the driveway waiting. It just takes him a little bit to climb up the steps. He kinda walks like a little old man.

 

[golfgal]

Personally I would appreciate a note at the beginning of the year telling me the times so that I could be sure to arrange my schedule to avoid those times. I think it's nice of you to think of it.

I would agree with this. Our neighbor across the street has a special ed son and the bus that picks him up doesn't turn on it's lights or put out the stop sign when he is loading and unloading because they stop at the end of the driveway, no street crossing.

I have to agree that 5 minutes is a very long time to wait. I also don't see where the danger is with people passing his bus and why the lights and the stop arm has to come out at all. I could see it if there was a chance he could dart out in front of the bus but that doesn't seem to be the case. Maybe you could suggest this to the bus driver instead of expecting all the other families in the neighborhood to adjust their schedule to fit your schedule. If there was another route out of your street that would be different but to tie up the only exit route for 5 minutes is asking a lot.

 

[Allison]

I would agree with this. Our neighbor across the street has a special ed son and the bus that picks him up doesn't turn on it's lights or put out the stop sign when he is loading and unloading because they stop at the end of the driveway, no street crossing.

I have to agree that 5 minutes is a very long time to wait. I also don't see where the danger is with people passing his bus and why the lights and the stop arm has to come out at all. I could see it if there was a chance he could dart out in front of the bus but that doesn't seem to be the case. Maybe you could suggest this to the bus driver instead of expecting all the other families in the neighborhood to adjust their schedule to fit your schedule. If there was another route out of your street that would be different but to tie up the only exit route for 5 minutes is asking a lot.

I'm not clear what you are saying should be suggested to the driver. It's the law and the driver has to do their job. They can't look the other way on this kind of thing. I would imagine they could lose their job for doing that.

 

[LuvOrlando]

-

 

[golfgal]

I'm not clear what you are saying should be suggested to the driver. It's the law and the driver has to do their job. They can't look the other way on this kind of thing. I would imagine they could lose their job for doing that.

It might NOT be the law, just a procedure. It would be something to look into. The SPED buses in our are do NOT put out a stop sign or flashing lights so it is possible in the OP's case that would be an option too.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I know you are right. If the neighbors have taken their driving tests, they know what the law is. I guess I'm too worried about what my neighbors will think. I think I'm trying too hard to protect them. Perhaps I need to let the chips fall where they may. (So why do I feel so bad about that )

I know that I would appreciate it. If you worded it something along the lines of: "The school bus picks up our son at 8:30 and drops him off at 3:30 every day. Because our son has special needs it sometimes takes him awhile to board the bus. I hope this information helps you so this is not an inconvenience for you on your way to work" or something like that. I would see that you have my welfare in mind. In a perfect world drivers will give themselves wiggle room on the way to get to work, but we all know that **** happens. I would personally be very grateful for something like that and it wouldn't come across as preachy at all.

I would agree with this. Our neighbor across the street has a special ed son and the bus that picks him up doesn't turn on it's lights or put out the stop sign when he is loading and unloading because they stop at the end of the driveway, no street crossing.

I have to agree that 5 minutes is a very long time to wait. I also don't see where the danger is with people passing his bus and why the lights and the stop arm has to come out at all. I could see it if there was a chance he could dart out in front of the bus but that doesn't seem to be the case. Maybe you could suggest this to the bus driver instead of expecting all the other families in the neighborhood to adjust their schedule to fit your schedule. If there was another route out of your street that would be different but to tie up the only exit route for 5 minutes is asking a lot.

The OP stated that her son is 15 with the mind of a 1 year old. Most 15 year olds I know are fairly tall and strong. This can make it hard to contain them. There is always the possibility that the young man may suddenly run into the street as the OP said that he has no sense of danger, so this is indeed a very dangerous situation. The OP is doing everything she can to shorten the time by having her son out there and waiting for the bus.

I have no sympathy for the drivers in this situation. The law is the law. It is there for a reason. Even the most well behaved child may suddenly run into the street at any time. The law is there to protect the children.

 

[golfgal]

I know that I would appreciate it. If you worded it something along the lines of: "The school bus picks up our son at 8:30 and drops him off at 3:30 every day. Because our son has special needs it sometimes takes him awhile to board the bus. I hope this information helps you so this is not an inconvenience for you on your way to work" or something like that. I would see that you have my welfare in mind. In a perfect world drivers will give themselves wiggle room on the way to get to work, but we all know that **** happens. I would personally be very grateful for something like that and it wouldn't come across as preachy at all.



The OP stated that her son is 15 with the mind of a 1 year old. Most 15 year olds I know are fairly tall and strong. This can make it hard to contain them. There is always the possibility that the young man may suddenly run into the street as the OP said that he has no sense of danger, so this is indeed a very dangerous situation. The OP is doing everything she can to shorten the time by having her son out there and waiting for the bus.

I have no sympathy for the drivers in this situation. The law is the law. It is there for a reason. Even the most well behaved child may suddenly run into the street at any time. The law is there to protect the children.

If it takes him 5 minutes to get on a bus, running into the street is not an issue from the way it sounds.