Last time I argued about school bus safety and kids running across roads without looking, I got ripped apart by Americans. In Australia we teach kids to hop off buses safely and look both ways before crossing a road after the bus has pulled away.
I’m a school bus driver in California, USA and every driver I know absolutely emphasizes safety above all else. My state would require I exit and cross a student this young with my handheld stop sign, but not all states make this requirement. This driver seems to be blocking most of the road though.
All that said, it’s moments like these that make my day as a driver. Kids are gonna be kids and I do my absolute best to be sure they get home safe.
Why tf do America still use buses where you get out in the front? In my country (eu) we stopped getting off at the front of the bus 20 years ago, now all buses come with two doors and you step out in the middle/back and then there is no risk of running in front of the bus.
I'm not sure how that makes any difference. If the kid needs to cross the street it doesn't make any difference where they exit they still need to get around the bus
The difference is that kids wait for the buss to leave before crossing the street instead of taking the shortest path and speeding in front or behind of the bus like in the clip. It's just human psychology. In the eu we don't need forced stops behind busses cause of this, every bus has two doors. The danger is that car drivers don't see the kids.
Bro, the point is that the drivers see the bus. It's the law to stop in all directions for a school bus in all 50 states. It works fine for us. The bus dropping off the kid and then driving away to let them fend for crossing the street themselves seems insane. The school bus is basically saying this whole-ass street is closed until my red lights go off.
I still fail to see how having doors on the side of the bus would make this any safer. He'd either be left on the opposite side of the road from his house (and have to cross on his own after the bus left, according to you?) or he'd be getting off literally into the opposing lane of traffic... and everyone would have to stop, just like they already do everywhere in the US.
Like, c'mon. So many other criticisms you can lay on Americans. We can take it. Our school busses are fine. It's literally the safest form of transportation in the US that any child takes.
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u/finfisk2000 2d ago edited 1d ago
The kid never looked for traffic on either side and just ran infront of the buss. A passing car would never had any chance to react.
Edit: In my profession I do risk assesments and investigate accidents.