(NGC) - I am fed up with these people!

[Gliderjohn]

What the hell is wrong with f*&%ing people. A few days ago 166 school district bus drivers in KS participated in a one day survey of drivers ignoring stopped school buses with the stop sign out. IN ONE DAY...1,004 incidents! These people need to be arrested and charged with child endangerment and have severely restricted if any driving privileges for a long time.
Currently the fine here with court costs is over $500 but that doesn't seem a concern I guess. Sorry for the rant from a retired educator.
GldierJohn

[Chuck in Indiana]

I would imagine it is considerably more important to finish that text than to look up and see that school bus. <shrug>

[yogidozer]

In my town they randomly, and frequently have a cop follow the school bus.
I would go to you selectman, or mayor, with as many people as you can, and demand they do the same.
A child's life is not something to be played with.
You can also try to go to the school board. Whatever it takes.
Another option, if you live in a small town, as I do. Go talk to the cops. I'm sure they would do something, especially where kid's safety is at risk.

[Gliderjohn]

Much of the problem is a LEO man power shortage, especially in the rural areas. Maybe a cause I need to pursue. Organize a trained and vetted volunteer force equipped with cameras to randomly ride buses and document incidents so law enforcement could followup on. Hmmm...
GliderJohn

[yogidozer]

In that case, I would gather some good people to drive behind the buses. When a stop comes up, the sign on the bus swings out, pull your truck/car into the opposite lane to block traffic. Yeah, I know that can piss off the other drivers, too bad, let them call a cop.
I take the safety of a child very seriously.
And if you're in a rural area, as I am, not much going on for cops at that time of day.

[Testarossa]

If manpower is an issue, put cameras on the buses. Stop sign swings out, there's a speeder-camera bolted to it set to trigger at over 5mph. Getting flashed ought to make people think about doing it again.

[pete roper]

In NSW there are school zones around schools and the limit drops to 40kph between 8.00AM and 9.30AM and then again between 2.30PM and 4.00PM. One of the strangest things I see regularly is 'Yummy Mummies' who will creep up to the drop off zone by the gates but as soon as their little precious is out of the car it's pedal to the metal as they roar off to their yoga class or whatever! I do find it odd!

The zones are policed regularly though and there is often a Highway Patrol car lurking around, especially on the Kings Highway adjacent to the school which is the main drag from Canberra to the coast. I love seeing dipshits getting ticketed in school zones!

More concerning was an incident the other day witnessed by a friend. At about 9.00AM, which is 'Peak School' as it were he was driving past on the way to Canberra and a small hatchback came flying down the highway the other way at, he estimated, about 130kph as it sped by. The driver was wearing some sort of 'Skull' mask and swerving across both lanes. My mate was so concerned he called the wallopers and by a stroke of luck there was a Highway Patrol car in town and thirty seconds after his call it went past in the direction of the other vehicle lights blazing and sirens howling! Hopefully he caught the idiot before Braidwood! My guess is drugs were involved. Probably Meth.

Assholes!

[Huzo]

If manpower is an issue, put cameras on the buses. Stop sign swings out, there's a speeder-camera bolted to it set to trigger at over 5mph. Getting flashed ought to make people think about doing it again.

That’s a good one..

[twowheeladdict]

Much of the problem is a LEO man power shortage, especially in the rural areas. Maybe a cause I need to pursue. Organize a trained and vetted volunteer force equipped with cameras to randomly ride buses and document incidents so law enforcement could followup on. Hmmm...
GliderJohn

Don't the buses in your area already have cameras on them?  They do in our area. 

I remember my bus drivers.  I wouldn't trust just surveying them.  I would want video proof. 

When I was young I had to walk 1/2 mile to the bus stop.  This way the bus stopped once or twice to fill up.  Now they pick the kids up in front of their home.  You get stuck behind a bus, you might as well turn around and go get a latte.   

[Gliderjohn]

From twowheeladdict"

Don't the buses in your area already have cameras on them?  They do in our area. 

In the last few years many have had cameras to record the interior of the bus but not the exterior.
GliderJohn

[Gliderjohn]

From twowheeladdict:

I remember my bus drivers.  I wouldn't trust just surveying them.  I would want video proof. 

I kind of hear you, but over a 1,000 reports in one day? Okay, even if over 2/3 incorrect that still leaves  over 300. Way to many.
GliderJohn

[nc43bsa]

Sometime in the last 2 years I read a report that there were 2000 such incidents each day in North Carolina.

So the state mounted "cameras" on the flag side of the buses.  Some of them are fake, some are real.  You, the reckless motorist, get to guess which ones are real.

[blu guzz]

in Cincinnati, they are setting some kind of record for vehicle vs. pedestrian wrecks.  everyone is driving to fast and too distracted.

[twowheeladdict]

in Cincinnati, they are setting some kind of record for vehicle vs. pedestrian wrecks.  everyone is driving to fast and too distracted.

...and pedestrians glued to their phones are walking out in traffic.    

[kballowe]

...and pedestrians glued to their phones are walking out in traffic.    

We had several incidents this year where people were talking on their phones and got ran over by trains.

Trains.

[rocker59]

Currently the fine here with court costs is over $500 but that doesn't seem a concern I guess. 

It's not the fine, but the lack of enforcement that is the problem.  Laws and Rules and Regulations are worthless without enforcement.

Unfortunately, enforcement is expensive and passing laws is not.  There are a bunch of other laws I can think of that are never enforced or prosecuted, or get pled down in court. 

[bad Chad]

Over a thousand incidents in one district in one lightly populated state?   So expand that out, that would be hundreds of thousands of such incidents happening each school day in the USA!

If indeed that were actually happening at such an absurd rate, hundreds, maybe thousands of kids would be getting run down yearly.   That is not happening, the survey has to be bogus.

[Lannis]

Sometime in the last 2 years I read a report that there were 2000 such incidents each day in North Carolina.

So the state mounted "cameras" on the flag side of the buses.  Some of them are fake, some are real.  You, the reckless motorist, get to guess which ones are real.

However, as was said just above, what good are cameras and laws if no one is getting punished in any meaningful way as a result?

Enforcement and punitive action ("Pour encourager les autres") is what will make the difference.

I actually think (at least in Virginia) we've done a pretty good job with DUI over the last 20 years.   The law now is 1st offense a fine and a couple days in jail, 2nd offense 90 days in jail, 3rd offense 10 years in jail.    It's hard to drive drunk when you're behind bars.

So that's an example of how real enforcement can make a change.   DUI deaths are way down from the past, but overall deaths on the highway are not down as much, because deaths due to cell/text-impaired driving are up.   

At the moment, killing someone or crashing into a bus full of kids is less important than being able to say "Good to see you at lunch today Madge, I'll see you again in an hour, hope you're OK" while you're driving down the road.   Until that priority changes among us as a whole, nothing will change.

Lannis

[Gliderjohn]

From bad chad:

Over a thousand incidents in one district in one lightly populated state?

If you look back at my OP it stated that was a total produced by 166 school districts, not one. Also this would probably include Wichita and the Kansas City, KS area, not lightly populated.
GliderJohn

[Rough Edge racing]

  In the late 70's construction was very slow so a friend got me a job in a school bus repair garage..This was in the Rochester NY suburbs..In the 5 years I was there there seemed to be al least one car hitting a bus every day..This particular terminal had about 100 buses..The usual excuse was the car driver didn't see the bus, yes big yellow box with flashing red lights..I don't believe a single kid was hurt, the cars got smashed, not so much the bus..There were no cells phones then....Now the increase in population, 24/7 internet reporting is part of the reason besides  more distracted drivers..
 

[Wayne Orwig]

In NSW there are school zones around schools and the limit drops to 40kph between 8.00AM and 9.30AM and then again between 2.30PM and 4.00PM. One of the strangest things I see regularly is 'Yummy Mummies' who will creep up to the drop off zone by the gates but as soon as their little precious is out of the car it's pedal to the metal as they roar off to their yoga class or whatever! I do find it odd!

I used to have to pass through three school zones on the way to work. The speed dropped to 35MPH, so they weren't bad. One day, a large SUV in font of my sped away through the first school zone getting far away from me. Then they kept going at high speed through the second zone. Now, almost out of sight, I noticed why they were in a hurry. They turned into the third school to pick up their precious cargo.    I'm sure that someone blasting fast through THEIR kids school zone would have been a problem for them.

The local school buses here are installing cameras. They get a good shot of the license plate AND the bus STOP sign that is out. Good evidence.

[jcctx]

Huge problem with Dallas County Schools with the camera program with several million $ in graft. Just like red light cameras all over TX. No way to hide from the thieves in this world!!!

[lorazepam]

What the hell is wrong with f*&%ing people. A few days ago 166 school district bus drivers in KS participated in a one day survey of drivers ignoring stopped school buses with the stop sign out. IN ONE DAY...1,004 incidents! These people need to be arrested and charged with child endangerment and have severely restricted if any driving privileges for a long time.
Currently the fine here with court costs is over $500 but that doesn't seem a concern I guess. Sorry for the rant from a retired educator.
GldierJohn

If each district has 10 busses, that is less than one incident per bus. How many were serious vs going by as lights are going but bus not stopped?
Need more info.

[Gliderjohn]

Due to my unique job I worked multiple school districts and did a lot of driving between school plus a 35 mile commute to my office through busing times. Not daily but regularly witnessed people blowing by buses. Really, this is not difficult and even one violation is too many considering we are talking kids here and also kids with disabilities that may not always be on their A game when leaving or boarding a bus.
GliderJohn

[Smithy]

In NSW there are school zones around schools and the limit drops to 40kph between 8.00AM and 9.30AM and then again between 2.30PM and 4.00PM. One of the strangest things I see regularly is 'Yummy Mummies' who will creep up to the drop off zone by the gates but as soon as their little precious is out of the car it's pedal to the metal as they roar off to their yoga class or whatever! I do find it odd!

The zones are policed regularly though and there is often a Highway Patrol car lurking around, especially on the Kings Highway adjacent to the school which is the main drag from Canberra to the coast. I love seeing dipshits getting ticketed in school zones!

More concerning was an incident the other day witnessed by a friend. At about 9.00AM, which is 'Peak School' as it were he was driving past on the way to Canberra and a small hatchback came flying down the highway the other way at, he estimated, about 130kph as it sped by. The driver was wearing some sort of 'Skull' mask and swerving across both lanes. My mate was so concerned he called the wallopers and by a stroke of luck there was a Highway Patrol car in town and thirty seconds after his call it went past in the direction of the other vehicle lights blazing and sirens howling! Hopefully he caught the idiot before Braidwood! My guess is drugs were involved. Probably Meth.

Assholes!

Not sure there are a bigger bunch of tools than the school mums...

You would be on the money regarding the Ice (meth) head. They need ploughing into paddocks as they would serve more use to society.

[Ryan]

In our area, there is one stretch where it is risky for the kids, so the driver turns on the lights and extends the sign, then swings across the lanes and blocks the road. Kids get on or off, he pulls back over and continues his route. Works great.

[severely]

I like Ryan's idea, simple solution to the problem. Next question is what to do with people that pass buses on the shoulder of the road?

[nc43bsa]

I like Ryan's idea, simple solution to the problem. Next question is what to do with people that pass buses on the shoulder of the road?

Good question.

I've already seen a video of a woman who drove onto the sidewalk to pass a stopped school bus.

[yogidozer]

Get to know your local police. Every town has at least one, if not more good guys. Explain your concerns, I believe that is your best course of action.
No one, no normal person, wants to see an innocent person in danger, especially a child.
We need to go back in time, to a time when cops were seen as good people, not the bad guys as the current media portrays them.
Take a plate number down, if you can, then give it to the PD.

[Wayne Orwig]

Take a plate number down, if you can, then give it to the PD.

Me, on my route home from my second shift job at 1am. The van ahead of me is weaving, driving in the ditch, took out a mailbox. I follow at a safe distance on the Guzzi. As we go through the green light at an intersection, there is an officer at the red light. I pull over beside him and tell him about the van. He replies 'why are you following him?', and proceeds to do nothing. That is one of the reasons that I don't even try to do what you said. Not only to I have to look out for the drunks, I assume that if one hits me, it is my fault.