Bus Blockade

I am concerned about how our school bus drivers use their buses, especially when children are on the bus, to block traffic so that other school buses can make turns at intersections. When did these yellow tin buckets become privateers for our roadways?

On my way to work this morning, the school bus driver in front of me stopped in the middle of the road. There was no traffic in front of the bus driver, and no little kids were playing in the street as they were already on the bus. There was no reason to slow down and create a dangerous situation for the other drivers on the road or the passengers on the bus. 

After a moment, another school bus turned onto the road I was driving because the bus driver in front of me blocked traffic. Note that the maneuver did not cause any delays in my travels. It bothered me because it created a dangerous situation where a school bus driver used its bus, with its passengers (children) on board, as a blocker in a blockade to allow another bus to enter a roadway. This is wrong, and it not only puts the other drivers on the road in danger but also endangers the safety of our children who ride the bus.

Acquaintances in law enforcement have told me numerous times that one of the most significant contributors to traffic accidents is drivers slowing down and/or stopping to let other cars enter the road. What the bus drivers are doing for each other is creating this same hazardous situation.

I am not sure if the bus drivers are encouraged to do this by their supervisors or if it is an unwritten rule of bus driving, but it has to stop before someone gets hurt.

The most important rule of driving is not getting there on time; it is getting there safely.

Just Be Better

Stay Healthy, Stay Strong.