Information of Interest: NY NMA Activist
| Pull Over When Possible: | Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Agree | |
| Overall: | Agree |
Comments:
My wife & I have a six month old daughter, who of course isn't going to be riding a school bus anytime soon. As a parent, I would be concerned about the safety of the bus and the ride. I see nothing in your proposals that would comprimise our child's safety. In fact, your first two points would be an added safety benefit.
Information of Interest: high school student (president of my class)
| Pull Over When Possible: | Strongly Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Strongly Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Strongly Agree | |
| Overall: | Strongly Agree |
Comments:
Right on! I also strongly agree that we need to make school bus trips as safe as possible. but we also need to make sure that other motorists are inconvenienced as little as possible, if at all. Where I live, they're very bad about holding up traffic unnecessarily. On the issue of limiting the use of the red flashers, I've been told that it is against the law in West Virginia for a school bus to stop on a public road and let anyone on or off (including high schoolers) without using them. The best example is the bridge crossing the river to the neighborhood where I live. They hold up two lanes of traffic going in their direction, the traffic coming off the bridge, and traffic turining off the highway from the other side when letting kids off at a bride with an elevated sidewalk away from where cars drive.
Information of Interest: Michigan NMA Activist
| Pull Over When Possible: | Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Strongly Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Strongly Agree | |
| Overall: | Strongly Agree |
Comments:
Regardless of the heat you may have taken on this politically-incorrect topic, the fact is that the improper routing of school buses, the selection of bus stops and the over-use of flashers to stop traffic create much of the hazard for which motorists are routinely blamed. Here in Ann Arbor, it is common to see school buses stopping every few hundred feet on the busiest streets in town and backing traffic up for blocks. To do business this way and then complain about the inevitable traffic hazards that result when frustrated motorists try to pass is simply stupid. Bus routes should be planned to create minimal obstruction to traffic and to let students off in the safest locations. Most of the time, that means the bus should pull onto a side-street before turning on the flashers and opening the door. It wouldn't hurt to employ bus drivers that were more than dimly aware of the traffic around them, either. And Kevin -- get a spell-checker!
Information of Interest: mi scc
| Pull Over When Possible: | Strongly Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Disagree | |
| Overall: | Agree |
Comments:
Kevin, In Mi buses do slow traffic and I think we could get support for buses to pull over when possible. In my area most bus drivers do this on there own. Getting them not to use the flashers whenever a kid is getting on the bus or leaving is not too likely. It would be too controversial an issue. The first kid that got hit, even if it had nothing to do woth the flashers, by a car when the flashers were off would create a media field day. Parker
Information of Interest:
| Pull Over When Possible: | Strongly Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Strongly Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Strongly Agree | |
| Overall: | Strongly Agree |
Comments:
This is but one example of a political system controlled by parents run amuck. We need to get through their heads that it is the duty of parents to keep their kids out of unsafe places; it is NOT the duty of everyone else to "child-proof" the outside world! YOU created the brats, YOU keep them out of my hair, or you shouldn't be allowed to have them.
Information of Interest: school bus driver
| Pull Over When Possible: | Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Disagree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Agree | |
| Overall: | Neutral |
Comments:
All drivers should be considerate of all other vechiles on the road If this means giving up 2 extra minutes of your time to allow a school bus pick up / drop off a student of any age. THEN WHY NOT DO SO>>> Whats the big hurry ? These children are the future. Lets give them a brake . It's like taking a minute to give a child a HUG... Lets all be SAFE drivers ! Remember SAFTY FIRST...
Information of Interest: parent
| Pull Over When Possible: | Strongly Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Strongly Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Strongly Agree | |
| Overall: | Strongly Agree |
Comments:
Another consideration: If cars are required to stop whenever a school bus loads or unloads then the children will become conditioned into believing that cars will always stop for them, even when the school bus isn't around. This will further encourage reckless behavior and in the long run will probably result in the death or injury of more children than will be saved by laws requiring cars to stop for school busses.
Information of Interest: this paper
| Pull Over When Possible: | Neutral | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Strongly Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Disagree | |
| Overall: | Neutral |
Comments:
You really should have someone read your work for grammer and spelling. I'm not being mean or negative -- its just that you will get your message across too many more people if they don't think you are illiterate. You may have written this in a hurry or any number of other circumstances may have caused the many errors in your "paper" but it makes you look "not quite all together."
Information of Interest: student
| Pull Over When Possible: | Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Strongly Disagree | |
| Overall: | Disagree |
Comments:
As a rider for several years, I have to point out that the system in Pensacola sets up bus routes so that side streets are used more often than main roads, simply to make it safer for kids getting off. I've also seen kids almost get killed when people who have to get their McDonalds right away speed around the bus. I know its a problem, but I don't think it's necessarily a good idea to limit flasher use. Kids are stupid, and an extra minute out of a driver's day won't kill them.
Information of Interest: College student
| Pull Over When Possible: | Neutral | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Disagree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Strongly Disagree | |
| Overall: | Strongly Disagree |
Comments:
You say there is only .0001% chance that a child will be killed in the process of getting on or off a school bus. I did not have the time to look over the additional web pages where you got this information, but maybe you should include some of the following information: During these accidents, what were the situations involving the children that resulted in thier deaths? And how many of them (not saying that they were totally fault) were due to improper bus signals or the impatience of the the traffic around the bus? Also, you may want to revise your web page. I'm not an english major and I'm not trying to question your intelligence, but you have many grammatical errors in your paper. In my point of view, this makes your research and suggestions less effective and other people who view it may feel the same.
Information of Interest: etc
| Pull Over When Possible: | Disagree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Disagree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Disagree | |
| Overall: | Disagree |
Comments:
I generally disagree with this school bus argument. As much as I hate being perpetually stuck behind a school bus on my cities streets.. there is a good reason for everything school buses do when picking up and dropping off children. Pull Over When Possible/// Pull Onto Side Streets --- school buses would take forever to deliver kids to their destination if bus drivers were forced to pull over for everyone. Kids would get to their destinations at a unpredictably different time each day. Bus drivers' schedules would not be kept. Bus drivers deliver for many different schools each day.(ex. Elementary, Middle, and High School's) Use Flashers Only When Necessary - Kids are unpredictable and bus driver's can not predict what a kid is going to do when he or she gets off the bus... and neither can the automobile drivers on opposing of the street. How about this argument... I think parents should pick up their own darn kids. or What's wrong with home schooling? Public schools are not very effective anyway.
Information of Interest: motorist
| Pull Over When Possible: | Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Strongly Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Neutral | |
| Overall: | Agree |
Comments:
I agree with the statement that said that buses should pull onto side streets. Not only is traffic less dense there, the speed limits are lower. If I had a child I would rather he/she get on/off a school bus in a area where the speed limit is 25 instead of 50. Cars have less of a chance of hitting them at that speed, and if they do, there is less chance of it being a fatality. Also, if the bus was in a neighborhood, it is probably closer to the children's house. And, in a neighborhood, if there is a "bad person" around, he/she would have more of a chance being seen by the people that would be home. When people are at work, they are there to work, not to watch and see if there is anybody that they don't know trying to pick up a kid. One thing you didn't state, that could fit into the pull over when possible section. If there was a parking lot on the right side of the road, the driver could pull into it. Then, he/she wouldn't have to make a left hand turn to get into traffic.
Information of Interest: motorist
| Pull Over When Possible: | Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Strongly Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Neutral | |
| Overall: | Agree |
Comments:
I agree with the statement that said that buses should pull onto side streets. Not only is traffic less dense there, the speed limits are lower. If I had a child I would rather he/she get on/off a school bus in a area where the speed limit is 25 instead of 50. Cars have less of a chance of hitting them at that speed, and if they do, there is less chance of it being a fatality. Also, if the bus was in a neighborhood, it is probably closer to the children's house. And, in a neighborhood, if there is a "bad person" around, he/she would have more of a chance being seen by the people that would be home. When people are at work, they are there to work, not to watch and see if there is anybody that they don't know trying to pick up a kid. One thing you didn't state, that could fit into the pull over when possible section. If there was a parking lot on the right side of the road, the driver could pull into it. Then, he/she wouldn't have to make a left hand turn to get into traffic.
Information of Interest: School Bus Driver
| Pull Over When Possible: | Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Disagree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Strongly Disagree | |
| Overall: | Disagree |
Comments:
Information of Interest: driver-to-be (I am almost 16)
| Pull Over When Possible: | Neutral | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Strongly Agree | |
| Overall: | Agree |
Comments:
Information of Interest: citizen
| Pull Over When Possible: | Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Neutral | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Neutral | |
| Overall: | Neutral |
Comments:
Information of Interest: adult
| Pull Over When Possible: | Strongly Disagree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Strongly Disagree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Disagree | |
| Overall: | Strongly Disagree |
Comments:
There are too many states that do not have strong enough regulations for the protection of our children (rural and city. City, roads that children have to cross without the benefit of a responsible crossing guard. Rural, I personnaly have seen to many "hurried" motorist, with no reguard or respect for a passenger vehicle let alone a vehicle that has 30 children as passengers. When laws are relaxed too much then end up being ignored altogether. Have you ever seen a child struck by a 3,000 lbs. vehicle that couldn't stop because it needed to save it's gas or it thought an 8 yr old child had enough maturity to know not to cross the roa? That child should know that the vehicle is being driven by someone with the maturity level of this same 8 yr old and outweighs them by 2960 lbs.
Information of Interest: Student CNA,Driving adult :-)
| Pull Over When Possible: | Strongly Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Agree | |
| Overall: | Agree |
Comments:
I think school bus drivers endanger students more than not, when they refuse to use common sense and coutisy on the roads. Especially on highways, were the visability may be limited. By holding up traffic, early before work, it causes driver stress and iritability. Making drivers more likely to pass, and or ignore the flashers. In turn, putting more helpless children at risk.
Information of Interest: Student
| Pull Over When Possible: | Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Strongly Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Neutral | |
| Overall: | Agree |
Comments:
As a student who rides the bus home from school, I would have to agree with the points you made. However, in most cases, the time that the motorists spend waiting for the bus is not that great - at least not from my perspective; perhaps in your location in may be a worse situation. Also, although I basically agree with you and do not feel that your ideas compromise children's safety, I do feel that drivers should be able to be patient enough to wait a minute or two. I do not believe that school buses, on a large scale, create traffic problems large enough to merit required changes.
Information of Interest: About to obtain BZ licence, but I have been employed in the industry for 3 years.
| Pull Over When Possible: | Neutral | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Neutral | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Strongly Disagree | |
| Overall: | Disagree |
Comments:
You do have some valid points, however, please remember that children's safety is of the utmost importance and that the red signal flashers are governed by law to mean "full stop" until they are deactivated. Perhaps those drivers who don't like the fact that they always have to stop for the school bus drivers should either.... a) put themselves in the bus driver's seat and imagine what it must be like to have so many vehicles constantly trying to dodge around them b) contact the applicable school boards and discuss the situation with them since in most provinces and states, individual school bus companies do not devise the routes. It is infact the school boards. c) choose alternative routes to travel during peak loading and off-loading times. I don't take offense to your report and infact I found it interesting. Have you ever considered doing a report on the logistics of imposing a law that requires mandatory seat belts for larger commercial passenger vehicles? Thanks for taking the time to read over my comments. I'm not an expert by any means, but hope to be someday :) Mike Webster 2nd Year Business Admin. Representative Canadore College Student Council Canadore College of Applied Arts and Technology North Bay, Ontario, CANADA
Information of Interest: Driver
| Pull Over When Possible: | Strongly Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Strongly Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Strongly Agree | |
| Overall: | Strongly Agree |
Comments:
Information of Interest: Got a ticket for passing a school bus.
| Pull Over When Possible: | Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Neutral | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Strongly Agree | |
| Overall: | Agree |
Comments:
Information of Interest:
| Pull Over When Possible: | Strongly Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Strongly Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Strongly Agree | |
| Overall: | Strongly Agree |
Comments:
Get rid of these annoying school buses completely!! They should be placed in a lane of their own!!!!
Information of Interest: Sports car driver
| Pull Over When Possible: | Strongly Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Strongly Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Strongly Agree | |
| Overall: | Strongly Agree |
Comments:
I hate the damn things. While busses can't drive very fast due to their stability, they can accelerate much faster than they usually do. There's no reason for bus drivers to not get on the gas when the light turns green! They should drive at the speed limit, but not take forever to get to it.
Information of Interest: motorist
| Pull Over When Possible: | Strongly Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Strongly Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Strongly Agree | |
| Overall: | Strongly Agree |
Comments:
It's bad enough that i have to pay for the school buses, but to have them blocking traffic from early in the morning to late at night is really too much! Here, they provide transportation for kids bigger in size than i am! I call the buses 'queens of the road' and i'd most likely get hung from the highest tree limb by parents if i even hinted at my annoyance towards towards this very expensive system. Glad to hear that there are others that share my concern and are trying to do something about it. This country has a lot of 'sacred cows' that touch off high emotions in place of reason,and this is one one of them. Thanks for your efforts.
Information of Interest: parent
| Pull Over When Possible: | Strongly Disagree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Strongly Disagree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Strongly Disagree | |
| Overall: | Strongly Disagree |
Comments:
School bus drivers have enough to worry about without having to
pull off the road to let children off.If the motering public is in
that big of a hurry they need to get a life, slow down and live a little.
remember you were a school kid at one time,people had to stop for your bus.
If the buses had to pull off the road they would have to find a safe place
to turn around without
backing over one of the kids they just let off.Have you ever seen 5 or 6
kids get off and go in one
direction? They go every which way.What about the kids that has to cross
the street the bus just turned off of
would they be safe crossing a street without that bus sitting there with
flashing lights on?
BEFORE TRYING TO PASS NEW LAWS MAKING A SCHOOL BUS LEAVE THE ROAD TO LET
OFF OUR CHILDREN. LET US THE DRIVERS LEARN TO SLOW DOWN
WATCH OUT FOR THE BUSES & CHILDREN THERE NOT ONLY MY KIDS BUT YOURS. THINK
ABOUT IT????
PS.
I live in the country where
speed limits are 55 mph.
Not the 35 mph. city street
limit
Information of Interest: parent
| Pull Over When Possible: | Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Neutral | |
| Overall: | Agree |
Comments:
I think you are on the right track. One difficulty (and I suspect the reason the system is now so inflexible) is the lack of maturity and good judgement in some of the drivers.
Information of Interest: motorist
| Pull Over When Possible: | Strongly Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Strongly Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Strongly Agree | |
| Overall: | Strongly Agree |
Comments:
I feel that they have the lights flashing when there aren't even children getting off the bus
Information of Interest: school bus driver
| Pull Over When Possible: | Disagree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Disagree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Disagree | |
| Overall: | Disagree |
Comments:
Although your viewpoint is well taken, you come off sounding like a frustrated motorist who has been delayed once too often by a big yellow school bus! Try wearing the shoes of a school bus driver! After you've completed the intensive training including classroom (36 hours) and behind the wheel (24 hours), I believe you may have a different perspective about frequent stops, turning down cross streets and use of warning lights. I'm just completing the above training and now have a much greater appreciation of all the responsibilities and risks associated with transporting the "world's most precious cargo!" I would be happy to correspond further if you're interested. (I have almost 20 years of transportation experience-both as a bus company owner / trainer / consultant.)
Information of Interest: former child :-)
| Pull Over When Possible: | Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Neutral | |
| Overall: | Agree |
Comments:
I think it's generally a bad idea to teach children that the whole world will stop for them, to treat children like unthinking beings (incapable of checking for traffic), and otherwise to "protect" them from reality. Have you seen kids riding bikes lately? With the helmets and all the padding, they're practically wearing body armor. It's crazy. I was hurt in a bike accident as a child, and I healed and went biking again. And of course fireworks are verboten. Independence Day fireworks used to be one of the joys of childhood, but modern kids can only watch passively from a distance as fireworks are set off by strangers. Most of us adults celebrated with fireworks as children, but now it's "too dangerous" for modern kids. It's just not a good idea to teach children to regard normal activities (like riding a bike, or like setting off fireworks, or like going to and from school) as a gauntlet of harrowing danger requiring extensive preparation and control by an authority. The tiny, tiny number of deaths resulting from normal childhood activities are certainly tragic for the people involved, but they don't justify the insane lengths to which we've gone in the name of protecting the children. When I was a child, they told us "Safety first." These days, if they're honest, they must be saying something like "Total safety at any cost, even if it means complete immobility and a stifled soul." Well, that's my rant for the day. I think a school bus should be treated pretty much like any other bus.
Information of Interest: student
| Pull Over When Possible: | Strongly Disagree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Strongly Disagree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Strongly Disagree | |
| Overall: | Strongly Disagree |
Comments:
I think we need MORE warnings to let people know that a school bus is stopping not enough drivers stop when the bus is letting children off. Now if you had children on that bus would you want to let all the other cars just go around giving them a chance to hit the child ?
Information of Interest: school bus driver
| Pull Over When Possible: | Strongly Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Neutral | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Strongly Disagree | |
| Overall: | Neutral |
Comments:
As a school bus driver I feel we need to think of the childern and getting them to and from school in a safe manner with out holding up traffic. There are times when we can move over to the side of the road and there are times when it is not safe to do so. We all have to think of the childern not how we can't that extra 2 mins. If that was my child on the side of the road and a drunk teenager comes to fast and runs over him,the teenager has his life still but, there is a chance my son don't.
Information of Interest: School bus driver
| Pull Over When Possible: | Neutral | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Disagree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Agree | |
| Overall: | Neutral |
Comments:
There are some of your comments that I don't agree with at all.
Information of Interest: Motorist
| Pull Over When Possible: | Strongly Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Strongly Agree | |
| Overall: | Agree |
Comments:
I was neutral on this issue until today. I was delayed 15 minutes by a school bus which was unloading a couple of handicapped students in wheelchairs, one at a time, using the wheelchair lift machine which the bus was equipped with. The red flashers were on the whole time, as required by Illinois law, and this being Chicago, it turned into major-league gridlock. Finally, I made an (illegal!) U-turn to backtrack and take another route to my destination, figuring the U-turn ticket would be less costly than the Passing A School Bus ticket. These kids could not possibly have darted out into traffic. They were incapable of it! This is why flasher use should be required only when necessary. Any logical person would see that unloading a wheelchair-bound kid is just one of several possible circumstances that does not require traffic to stop. Especially since it is such a time-consuming procedure that it creates a delay of such a length that if a railroad left a train across a crossing that long, the railroad would be dragged into court and fined!
Information of Interest: Transportation Supervisor/Parent
| Pull Over When Possible: | Strongly Disagree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Strongly Disagree | |
| Overall: | Disagree |
Comments:
The theory of your idea has merit, however when taking the concept
and applying it to real situations it is unrealistic.
As a person who deals with students and parents in school bus routing
situations on a daily basis I know you have made some assumptions that are
not true in real life.
1. Most children are delivered to a home without adult supervision so there
is no adult to monitor the students when they are waiting to board or
exiting the bus.
2. A large number of motorists will do almost anything (including illegal
manuvers such as passing on the right or running the stop arm) to avoid
being behind a school bus in traffic.
3. Engineers rarely design streets in housing areas to accomodate school
buses. Cul-de-sacs were never meant to handle any large vehicle without the
vehicle backing. That traffic manuver is very unsafe expecially around
children.
4. School bus drivers do attempt to allow traffic to pass when there is
space and visibility to do so. To just "pull over" so traffic can pass is
an invitation to disaster for the students on the bus and oncoming traffic.
5. Since liabilities dictate how we in the U.S.A. do business today, how do
you answer the questions that come to mind? What guidelines do you
establish regarding when to use the loading lights and stop arm? Whose
child is less important so you don't use those safety features? What about
the freak unexpected accident that no one saw coming ... could the use of
those safety features made a difference and saved a life?
How safe is too safe? When it comes to our children and essentially
our future can we be "too" safe? As long as even one (1) child is injured
or killed around a school bus than there is still work to be done to make
the environment in and around the school bus safer.
Information of Interest: Bus Drivers
| Pull Over When Possible: | Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Disagree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Agree | |
| Overall: | Disagree |
Comments:
I really get tired of everybody bad mouthing bus drivers. We have one of the most chalenging jobs around. If you don't agree, try putting 60 kids (that don't get along with one another) in your back seat, and go out in traffic with construction and irate drivers & parents who want kids transported safely, but when it does not inconvience them. Let something go wrong and we are the first ones to hear about it. I think its about time we the motorists start taking some responsibilty for our own actions and quit look for someone to blame (which is what we are good at)
Information of Interest:
| Pull Over When Possible: | Strongly Disagree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Strongly Disagree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Strongly Disagree | |
| Overall: | Neutral |
Comments:
As a parent and also the wife of a bus driver I can say that the buses need the few minutes to safely load and unload the children. Everyone today is in such a big rush. On the highway I go the speed limit or with the flow of traffic and yet there is ALWAYS someone who wants to go faster and to that end will pass on the right or left shoulder if there isn't any other way. Most of the buses have a set time that they are at each bus stop unless they are picking up in - possibly a shopping center parking lot as is the case here for one stop. They too must stick to the schedule to get the children to school on time. The children, especially the youngest ones are tired on the way home and may take a bit longer to unload, but it doesn't count for more than one minute longer in actual unloading time. Now lets address the person following the bus. We live approximately 4 miles away from town on a very busy rural highway. The bus is at each stop the very same time every morning so people that just can't have the patience could leave 5 minutes before or later. Let's address those in a rush. Are they the same ones that read the morning paper and drink a cup of coffee, or put on their makeup while driving down the road. You don't suppose these people always in a hurry are just too lazy to get up either on time or just 15 minutes earlier to take care of their "needs". My lord people, whats the rush to get to a job you probably don't like anyway. Just because people get together to complain doesn't make them right, just loud and collective. Isn't life going by you fast enough - you don't have time to enjoy life now. Isn't there anything more important that you can think of that needs your time and attention - say people charging you too much for everything you buy, people on welfare that are fully capable of working. Insurance fraud, office theft, corruption in the government, the year 2000 on your computer, but the bus taking a bit too long for the safety of children - sorry thing!
Information of Interest: student on school bus
| Pull Over When Possible: | Strongly Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Strongly Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Disagree | |
| Overall: | Agree |
Comments:
I think it has to do with where they put the bus stops. I often have to walk a long distance to a stop on a main road, with no median to help me cross. Many times people have almost hit me. I'm a mature 14 year old, and think about a hiper little elementary student trying to cross. I live in Miami, and many of the students on my bus do not live anywhere near the main road. If stops were changed off the main road in the first place, closer to the homes, it would be safer for the students, less of a hardship for them to get home, and most of all, it wouldn't hold up traffic!
Information of Interest: student
| Pull Over When Possible: | Neutral | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Strongly Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Agree | |
| Overall: | Agree |
Comments:
Down in New Zealand where I live it is compulsory to slow down to below 30km/hr passing a school bus that has let of children. I really do agree they should be let off in a side street where it's safer. I strongly agree with your second point.
Information of Interest: new safety on buses
| Pull Over When Possible: | Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Agree | |
| Overall: | Agree |
Comments:
Information of Interest: parent
| Pull Over When Possible: | Strongly Disagree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Disagree | |
| Overall: | Neutral |
Comments:
The first view is excellent if at all possible. But usually it is
not possible due to road and community design. The second point is
great too if children will be safe there and getting there. Lastly,
the flasher should always be used unless it is a four lane road with
no children crossing the intersection. As motorist we all break
the law, please remember this if you can when driving. I wonder if
any of the writers have ever seen a child or any human being get hit
by a car. I have personally seen a child get hit on the way to work.
She was crossing a four lane road without an adult. She started to
cross when the light was red on the first half of the road. But as she
reached the center the light turned green, her body was thrown upper,
then under both front and rear wheels she went. This was an inner city
accident with a person in a crosswalk with a light changing and the
driver on their way to work. The driver did not see the child in the
cross-walk. It is one of the most unpleasant memories I have. But
current cutting cost for drivers and buses, time constraint on the
operating of buses, and the population explosion are putting all
school age children at risk. And the rage on the roads will never
lessen. God please help us all, but mostly the children in danger
ways.
I am mother with four children, my children have caught a bus for 19
years on a narrow, through fare street. Currently, the school is
not wanting to stop at my house which is the safest stop for my third
child who is eight year old child. Her dad was hit by a car as child.
My child has to wait at a downhill intersection. At this
intersection cars are coming up a hill and running the stop sign.
And left turning traffic is only seven or eight feet from hitting my
child on a down hill turn. But the thing is I am dealing with a
principal who is new, who thinks I should get my community to petition
the city on traffic and road conditions. I guess I should but is she
doing her job concerning safety. And then there is the DOT school
executive who does not like me due to prior conservation within the
last five years on this topic. Which I won against him. With this
new school year this well paid man with an assistant, and with the
aid of a computer to do his job, put some children at risk while
catering to others at more frequent stops that are well within
one-tenth of mile of each other.
Sick to Stomach in North Carolina
morning pick-up on a level sight in the road. Which is compared to
the dangerous intersection under one-tenth of a mile from my
house. So to the drivers behind the buses realize some school official
put children at risk already by the book.
Information of Interest: 24 year old average joe
| Pull Over When Possible: | Disagree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Disagree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Disagree | |
| Overall: | Disagree |
Comments:
That would hamper the bus driver too much, they have enough to worry about already. Its just part of life, being behind a bus sux. Let's stick to stuff like getting rid of speed limits on highways, and leave this stuff alone.
Information of Interest: good topic for Government class.
| Pull Over When Possible: | Strongly Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Strongly Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Neutral | |
| Overall: | Strongly Agree |
Comments:
I think this is a great idea and would be very helpful when I am running late and I have to wait for the slow bus in front of me.
Information of Interest: car driver
| Pull Over When Possible: | Strongly Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Strongly Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Strongly Agree | |
| Overall: | Strongly Agree |
Comments:
In Texas it's ridiculous. They are now giving jail time to those that pass a school bus while loading or unloading with flashers on. Once I remember a school bus driver parked on the opposite side of the road with flashers on. I was behind two other vehicles so I waited patiently for the first couple minutes. No kids left or boarded the bus; in fact it appears the driver was just chatting with a teacher and had left her flashers on just for the heck of it. Then, I finally said enough is enough and passed the other vehicles and the bus. I was tempted to write down more information about the bus and its location for possible reporting as this was grossly disrepectful to other drivers. The bus driver who did this deserves to be fired.
Information of Interest: DRIVER OF CAR
| Pull Over When Possible: | Strongly Agree | |
| Pull Onto Side Streets: | Strongly Agree | |
| Use Flashers Only When Necessary: | Strongly Agree | |
| Overall: | Strongly Agree |
Comments:
I BELIEVE THAT CHILDRENS LIVES ARE IMPORTANT BUT, I DO NOT THINK THAT SCHOOL BUSSES SHOULD HAVE TOTALY UNCONTESTED RIGHT OF WAY. IN OTHER WORDS IF THERE IS A PROBLEM THEY CAN WAIT. IF IT IS NESESARY TO USE THE STOP SIGN THEY SHOULD ONLY BE ALLOWED TO USE IT AFTER ALL OTHER TRAFFIC HAS PASSED. I BELIEVE THAT SCHOOL BUS SIZE IS ALLSO A PROBLEM. THEY ARE SLOW LOW PERFORMANCE VEHICLES WITH OUT EVEN A SEAT BELT. IF THE SCHOOL BUSSES WERE SMALLER THE COULD MORE EASILY MOVE WITH THE TRAFFIC FLOW AND ALSO PULL OFF THE ROAD! NO OTHER VEHICLE IS ALLOWED TO JUST STOP ALL TRAFFIC WHEN EVER THEY WANT AND I THINK THAT SOME DRIVERS GET OFF ON THE POWER TRIP! THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME EXPRESS MY OPINIONS IS THERE ANY HOPE THAT ANYTHING CAN BE DONE ABOUT THIS IN MINNESOTA? BYRON KILBOURNE