I know the roads are bad but.....

[JoeKoh]

Well even people from Michigan say their roads are bad but what is the deal with the bus driver! A bus carrying kids was hit by an amtrak train in Michigan yesterday because the bus was too close to the tracks.Thankfully no one was killed just bumps and bruises.I see one bus driver looking for a new job.[:(!]
stay safe
Joe

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by JoeKoh

I see one bus driver looking for a new job.[:(!]
stay safe
Joe

And I think he should be sued for trespassing on railroad property, too! [}:)]

Indeed, real luck that no one got killed!

Best regards to Matt & his Dad,

Oliver

[Anonymous]

I just had my first child and I have started to take notice lately how bad School Bus drivers are!! They think because they are driving this monster vehicle they can drive at will. Why don't school buses have seatbelts?

[rrnut282]

My wife used to drive a school bus and she says seatbelts would be useless as you can't force the kids to wear them, mumbling something about a complete lack of discipline in the home/school/etc. Don't suggest making the driver wait for them to buckle up, either. How many of you curse the driver who even waits long enough for the kid to sit down??!! Besides most new buses come with high-back seats that are padded in the back (to protect the child in the seat behind). Really the issue is cost. It would take a lot of extra reinforcement to provide a secure attachment point for the belts, resulting in extra weight to carry around and increased fuel consumption, reduced capacity, etc., for not a lot of extra protection.

[CShaveRR]

My reports said that there weren't any kids on the bus.

(That's still no excuse.)

Video showed that the whold front end was pretty much gone.

[AntonioFP45]

Thankfully no one was killed. This situation must be very infuriating for the parents of kids that ride school buses! [:(!]However, while there is likely no excuse for this "avoidable" mishap, we shouldn't judge the entire group of bus drivers there or anywhere in the U.S. Their job is very stressful, especially today since so many more kids are disruptive and disrespectful thanks to "liberal parenting". [D)]

Nearly everytime a fight breaks out on a school bus in America and injuries occur, the driver is the first person heavily scrutinized and at times blamed; especially if an accident occurs as a result of the disruption or if the driver had to physically separate kids. Lawsuit time!

Veteren school bus drivers are often distracted at critical moments and you'll find that most school bus drivers do their best to avoid becoming road bullies as they know that:

[1] The public is watching and so is the news media.
[2] Accidents will lead to lawsuits.
[3] The termination of employment with a scar on personal records.

This is why so many of them quit after less than a year on the job. [sigh]

[dharmon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by AntonioFP45

Thankfully no one was killed. This situation must be very infuriating for the parents of kids that ride school buses! [:(!]However, while there is likely no excuse for this "avoidable" mishap, we shouldn't judge the entire group of bus drivers there or anywhere in the U.S. Their job is very stressful, especially today since so many more kids are disruptive and disrespectful thanks to "liberal parenting". [D)]

Nearly everytime a fight breaks out on a school bus in America and injuries occur, the driver is the first person heavily scrutinized and at times blamed; especially if an accident occurs as a result of the disruption or if the driver had to physically separate kids. Lawsuit time!

Veteren school bus drivers are often distracted at critical moments and you'll find that most school bus drivers do their best to avoid becoming road bullies as they know that:

[1] The public is watching and so is the news media.
[2] Accidents will lead to lawsuits.
[3] The termination of employment with a scar on personal records.

This is why so many of them quit after less than a year on the job. [sigh]

Liberal Parenting......I'll have you know that I was selected as the "Meanest Dad in the World" for the fifth straight year and was runner up for "Meanest Parent in the Household". I did get the "Meanest Parent in a Supporting or Secondary Role" for the year and was nominated for "Most likely to be punched in the nose if I was tall enough and you would ground me for the rest of my life" by my daughter.

[tree68]

I just read the Detroit Free Press account (Freepress.com, Oakland County). According to the article, he crashed the gates, which were down, and the lights were working.

As for the kids behavior: That's why they are putting camera cases on the buses around here now. There's not always a camera in the case, but the kids don't know that. Helps bail the driver out sometimes, too - no where near as much "he said - she said" when you can go to the tape.

NY school buses have had belts for quite some time now. They don't get used, and it seems like I've heard of them as a hazard (how fast can you swing a buckle on the end of a strap?!?).

There have always been occasional behavior problems on buses. They are, after all, just another room where kids gather. And when kids gather, there will be problems. That said - sometimes instead of taking "the paddle" (how many remember having one of those hanging in the classroom?) to the kid, maybe we need to take it to the parents... In public.

[rrnut282]

Amen! My wife was threatened about losing her job when she pulled the big kid who was bloodying up a smaller kid's face! The parents wanted to charge her with assault! The video camera wasn't working that day for some reason, but finally enough of the kids on the bus (99% who loved her) told the truth about what happened and the school system and parents backed down. Funny, we never heard from the parents of the 'recued' child. To add insult to injury, my wife went back to school to get her nurse's degree and the school terminated her without cause. Imagine a school system firing someone over going to school. (She would have had to miss 1 day a week and they didn't want to trouble themselves with a substitute driver.) That's the kind of crap bus drivers have to put up with, so don't be so quick to judge.
I'll get off my soapbox now, thank you for letting me vent.

[TH&B]

Seatbelts are not for busses, they are for cars and airplanes. Busses don't stop as instantly as a car does in an accident. Go ahead spend the $$ on seatbelts and try to enforce them, what are you gonna do blame the driver again if some ten year old wasn't wearing his in a bus of 30 kids? Anyways we were talking abut a train hitting the bus and I think in this instance you want any kids on the bus to evacuate not be stuck in their seatbelts. But of course putting seatbelts on busses might "look like" someone is doing something, it would be a useless material waste of effort, better off trying to solve the real problem.

[AntonioFP45]

Wow dharmon, you're a tougher parent than I am! Great!

Rrnut. I sympathize as I work for my school system as a teacher. I hear and see a lot of stories regarding school bus drivers. I give them a hearty salute! I hope that your wife pushes forward and is successful in her career!

[rrnut282]

FP45
Thanks and hang in there, yourself. My dad started college as an education major, but then they took spanking (as in discipline) out of the classroom, he saw the handwringing on the wall and changed majors. It was good money and good hours. Every time there was a school delay, she was able to stay with the kids, so it worked out great. Even so, we're not looking back.

[JoeKoh]

Dharmon-
i agree. it starts from day one.Matt is given all the love in the world but if he makes a mess(like what i woke up to today) he helps clean it up.He was saying heavy as he picked up his books and put them away.maybe I'll get voted for an award too.
stay safe
Joe