(Moderators....since this involves driving, I wasn't sure whether to post it in Car Chat or Clubhouse).






It's that time of year again. The calendar summer is just about over, and within the next week, the fall school sessions will be starting back up in the U.S. (in fact, they may have already started in some jurisdictions). Most of you CL members probably already know proper school-bus etiquette (and practice it). But, for those of you who don't, local and state traffic laws in most American jurisdictions (details vary some by state) require a FULL stop behind a school bus when the bus is stopped, with the door open, and displaying flashing red lights and/or an extended red stop sign on the drivers' side. These full-stop laws apply behind a bus, to the side in some instances if a side-street opens into the corner of the bus-stop, and approaching the bus from the opposite direction if it is a road without a divided median. The full-stop law usually does NOT apply if you are approaching from the opposite direction and there is a median or barrier in the roadway where children usually wouldn't be crossing....but, even so, one should slow down a little, pay attention, watch for any kids crossing the median, and be ready to make quick stop if necessary. As cars get more and more automated these days, some newer luxury cars, of course, have built-in cameras that catch things like that and automatically brake if needed.

Yes, these school bus full-stop laws, just like speed-bumps, multi-way stop-signs, traffic lights, and other impediments to our driving freedom, can be annoying and sometimes cause delays when we are in a hurry to get somewhere (like home after work). But they are there for a reason. Remember, we're dealing with kids as young as 5 or 6 years old, barely out of kindergarten (or, in some cases, still IN kindergarten), who, without help, simply have little or no conception of how to safely cross an unregulated street full of swift-moving cars. They HAVE to have these laws in effect to possibly save their lives.

But there are, of course, just as with everything else in life, scofflaws who think that these laws don't apply to them, although, IMO, it takes a real low-life to intentionally and with reckless disregard put young lives in danger. In some places, though, states and localities are now fighting back with side-mounted cameras on the outboard side of school buses that video-record when a vehicle ignores the busses' red lights and stop sign. The cameras activate when the red lights go on and the stop sign swings out, and deactivate when the sign folds back in and the lights go out. Of course, as with regular speed-cameras and red-light cameras, a certain amount of leeway is given in the video for those who are already braking, intending to stop, and just overrun the sign by a few feet...or if the bus itself is not at full stop when the lights and sign go on (I've seen that happen a couple of times, such as if the bus-driver partly-opens the door a little early). But, in general, it's set up to catch those who willfully drive right on by with little or no intention of stopping.

Again, depending on locality, the exact nature/circumstances of the violation, and whether any kids were hit/injured or not, penalties for passing a stopped school bus vary from a misdemeanor to a Class I Felony or worse.

 

I have never seen cameras on school buses before like that picture. Very cool

 

They were started in my area last year.

 

Must be newly rolled out then. I'll keep a lookout in my area. Intrigued

 

Great idea, but wow--what after school activities did they cut from the budget to fund those cameras?

 

Probably didn't need to cut much, if anything. In my area (NoVA-D.C. suburbs), because of zealous parents and strong Teachers' Unions, public school budgets are like sacred cows. The fine-collection, alone, from these things, probably pays for them. This is obviously not just a money-issue, though, but one of safety, too.

 

Small world...and interesting timing. I just talked to a retired school-bus driver today, during my usual morning swim at the rec center, about what a problem ignoring stopped school busses is, and how many drivers she actually saw do it. She said (and I agree with her...I think she's right) that much of it stemmed from an overall general attitude of "**** the system........I'm late for work and nothing's going to stop me".

 

I happen to live in what I jokingly call "a school infested area", and a lot of these schools just do not have any accommodations for school buses. These school buses stop right in front of the school on a busy road in the morning and afternoon, and start discharging students. Its usually several buses in a row, with more buses waiting right behind, causing huge traffic. Combined with ons of crazy soccer moms in minivans driving their kids to school only make the situation worse. And then of course you have the crazy a-hole that almost rear end you when you're stopping for the school buses, and start honking obnoxiously. I dread the start of the school year, as it generally worsens the traffic in NYC by threefold. People need to stop having kids.

 

You just described my morning commute. Man, those buses are everywhere in NY, they drive slow and stop on every single street. Its been so nice for the past 2 months, the hell starts next week.....

 

I just realized that since I moved to Vegas in January, I have not encountered one school bus on the road. Must be my driving schedule. The damn city buses are a huge PITA though.

 

That, alone, may be part of the traffic problem. We all pay local taxes to support the school systems, and then don't use the bus-transportation systems when they are available.


Well, I would assume that you yourself had a mom and dad....if not here, than back in Russia.

 

Well my parents didn't drive a minivan, and the school that I went to back in USSR didn't resemble a zoo like most NYC schools.

 

I just saw an idiot on Friday blow past the stop sign. I wish, I was a cop so I could have turned around and given her that 6 point ticket. Just stop and wait. Yeesh.

 

Totally agree. A funny school bus story once. A TV station was interviewing a famous local long distance runner. Well as he caught up to the school bus it stopped and as he ran along side of it the driver not seeing him pulled the stop sign. The runner doing a good pace smacked face first into it and was knocked out. The way he was describing it was hilarious. He status clear of buses now.

 

With society being what it is today, a lot of runners/lawyers would have sued the local county school board (or maybe the bus driver) over an incident like that.