question about school bus stopping rules

"Kevin Russell" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 17 Nov 2005 23:33:06 GMT, "Dave" > wrote:
>
>>"Kevin Russell" > wrote in message
. ..
>>> When you have a 4-lane boulevard with 1 middle turning lane (5 total),
>>> must you always stop when a school bus shows its red sign on the far
>>> side of the road?
>>
>>YES. There is no physical barrier, so school children are
>>loading/unloading
>>on the road, and you are required to stop. -Dave
>
> I figured that was true, but you'd have to see this special situation
> with a bus stop just beyond the crest of a small hill. Half the
> drivers are unsure what to do and keep moving because they can't see
> the bus until they've crested. Many of them are going 55 or more in
> that 45 zone so it compounds the problem. If they try to stop at the
> last second they might spin out and crash into the bus. They should
> just move the whole bus stop but they really can't
>
> Kevin
>

You're right, they should move the stop. Not sure where you are, but around
here all school bus stops have to be approved/designated by the Highway
Patrol. Might be worth a call to your local office expressing concern.
(Regardless of the red light/stopping issue, it seems dangerous to have a
stop right over the crest of the hill....stupid drivers always doing stupid
things like passing on the right or trying to ride the bike lane to the
street they want to turn on could easily hit it w/o reaction time.)

-Nick

the government could make the bus stop more visible if it really wanted to,
but then again, they wouldn't get as much revenue if they did that.

"Nick" > wrote in
. com:

>
> "Kevin Russell" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On Thu, 17 Nov 2005 23:33:06 GMT, "Dave" > wrote:
>>
>>>"Kevin Russell" > wrote in message
...
>>>> When you have a 4-lane boulevard with 1 middle turning lane (5
>>>> total), must you always stop when a school bus shows its red sign
>>>> on the far side of the road?
>>>
>>>YES. There is no physical barrier, so school children are
>>>loading/unloading
>>>on the road, and you are required to stop. -Dave
>>
>> I figured that was true, but you'd have to see this special situation
>> with a bus stop just beyond the crest of a small hill. Half the
>> drivers are unsure what to do and keep moving because they can't see
>> the bus until they've crested. Many of them are going 55 or more in
>> that 45 zone so it compounds the problem. If they try to stop at the
>> last second they might spin out and crash into the bus. They should
>> just move the whole bus stop but they really can't
>>
>> Kevin
>>
>
> You're right, they should move the stop. Not sure where you are, but
> around here all school bus stops have to be approved/designated by the
> Highway Patrol. Might be worth a call to your local office expressing
> concern. (Regardless of the red light/stopping issue, it seems
> dangerous to have a stop right over the crest of the hill....stupid
> drivers always doing stupid things like passing on the right or trying
> to ride the bike lane to the street they want to turn on could easily
> hit it w/o reaction time.)
>
> -Nick
>
>
>

Of course, you are also asking the question, where are you going to move
it to. How far will it have to be moved, 600, 1000 feet? How far will the
child have to walk unprotected to get from their house to the stop? Are
these elementary students or high school? There's a big difference
between a 17 year old and a 7 year old walking along a road to get home.

Ideally, each house would have a driveway big enough to pull the bus in,
pickup at the door, turn around and pull out again. But, that ain't going
to happen. Question is where is the compromise going to happen. Things
look very different if you're the parent waving goodbye, the driver of
the school bus, the driver of the car stuck behind the bus, or the
transportation director getting 8,000 student to school each day.

Doug

"DYM" > wrote in message
...
> "Nick" > wrote in
> . com:
>
>>
>> "Kevin Russell" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> On Thu, 17 Nov 2005 23:33:06 GMT, "Dave" > wrote:
>>>
>>>>"Kevin Russell" > wrote in message
m...
>>>>> When you have a 4-lane boulevard with 1 middle turning lane (5
>>>>> total), must you always stop when a school bus shows its red sign
>>>>> on the far side of the road?
>>>>
>>>>YES. There is no physical barrier, so school children are
>>>>loading/unloading
>>>>on the road, and you are required to stop. -Dave
>>>
>>> I figured that was true, but you'd have to see this special situation
>>> with a bus stop just beyond the crest of a small hill. Half the
>>> drivers are unsure what to do and keep moving because they can't see
>>> the bus until they've crested. Many of them are going 55 or more in
>>> that 45 zone so it compounds the problem. If they try to stop at the
>>> last second they might spin out and crash into the bus. They should
>>> just move the whole bus stop but they really can't
>>>
>>> Kevin
>>>
>>
>> You're right, they should move the stop. Not sure where you are, but
>> around here all school bus stops have to be approved/designated by the
>> Highway Patrol. Might be worth a call to your local office expressing
>> concern. (Regardless of the red light/stopping issue, it seems
>> dangerous to have a stop right over the crest of the hill....stupid
>> drivers always doing stupid things like passing on the right or trying
>> to ride the bike lane to the street they want to turn on could easily
>> hit it w/o reaction time.)
>>
>> -Nick
>>
>>
>>
>
> Of course, you are also asking the question, where are you going to move
> it to. How far will it have to be moved, 600, 1000 feet? How far will the
> child have to walk unprotected to get from their house to the stop? Are
> these elementary students or high school? There's a big difference
> between a 17 year old and a 7 year old walking along a road to get home.
>
> Ideally, each house would have a driveway big enough to pull the bus in,
> pickup at the door, turn around and pull out again. But, that ain't going
> to happen. Question is where is the compromise going to happen. Things
> look very different if you're the parent waving goodbye, the driver of
> the school bus, the driver of the car stuck behind the bus, or the
> transportation director getting 8,000 student to school each day.
>
> Doug

I totally understand what you're saying here. It sounds like this stop is
right over the crest of a hill. Moving it to the uphill side would ensure
that drivers who were traveling in the same direction as the bus would be
able to see it and avoid hitting it, that's all.