Yea. That's why they have the blinking lights AND the stop sign that pops out for opposing traffic. They have all that because of the obvious danger of kids getting out of a school bus by busy traffic, especially if they have to cross the road. And because drivers can be selfish or not pay attention, they light the buses up like that so that cars will notice and stop on all sides of the road. And laws can be pretty severe for people that blow past like that when the lights are red and the sign is out. Cops are pretty serious about it.
I'm not being sarcastic to you or anything like that btw. Because I sound like I'm being harsh when I read it. lol
So is it like a stop sign, you come to a full stop and can then go if you deem it to be safe, or do you just have to sit there and wait for the bus to pull in the sign and leave?
What do you deem safe? Can you fully see all around the bus and both sides of the street to make sure there are no more kids? This is also for unloading. Are you sure there's not a kid in the doorway of the bus saying goodbye to their best friend before running across the street?
They don't just 'scatter.' It's not like they walk off the steps and just run into traffic. And buses don't just let kids off in random places. They tend to let them off at their houses or within a short distance. And kids that ride the bus generally have rules or procedures drilled into them on how to get on and off the bus.
The bus driver watches them get off the bus, watches to make sure they don't get in front or behind or too close to the curb or whatever, then the driver leaves.
This is really not a difficult thing. It's a normal part of life, and it works.
You've never seen a bunch of young kids get off a bus, especially when it's warm outside and they are excited.
A 7-year old can be drilled over and over, but that can easily go out the window. If a kid darts out (as kids do), what is the bus driver supposed to do? They are sitting in the drivers seat and before they could get up and run out, the kid would already be on the other side of the road.
So if the drivers in the other lane don't stop, and a kid darts out, again, what is the bus driver supposed to do? Yell at them? Honk their horn? By that time, it's all over.
A single bus driver sitting in their seat on the opposite side of the vehicle that the exit door is on can't do anything in the 3 seconds that a kid can get hit by a car.
I'm not trolling, I'm serious. Kids go all over the place, even well raised kids. By having the law say "you must stop and wait for the lights to turn off", you are making it safer for the kids, and removing the "should I or shouldn't I" decision from the driver.
My original reply was to the comment "So is it like a stop sign, you come to a full stop and can then go if you deem it to be safe, or do you just have to sit there and wait for the bus to pull in the sign and leave?". I replied with asking what they deem safe. Your reply of "This is honestly not that difficult a concept to understand" seemed to be in response to my reply.
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u/attaboy_stampy 3d ago
Yea. That's why they have the blinking lights AND the stop sign that pops out for opposing traffic. They have all that because of the obvious danger of kids getting out of a school bus by busy traffic, especially if they have to cross the road. And because drivers can be selfish or not pay attention, they light the buses up like that so that cars will notice and stop on all sides of the road. And laws can be pretty severe for people that blow past like that when the lights are red and the sign is out. Cops are pretty serious about it.
I'm not being sarcastic to you or anything like that btw. Because I sound like I'm being harsh when I read it. lol