Do you allow you kids to ride a school bus? - Page 2

[Cinder]

ohh yea, and I don't trust bus drivers in general, but I do trust my kids teachers, and they are on the bus with the kids for field trips, along with multiple parent chaperones.

[mamabeca]

My older dd is almost 11, she has ridden on a bus to and from school since 1st grade. No seat belts. My little one is 4, and has had his own carseat on the bus, which I installed. I felt ok w/that. I completely understand why people get skeeved out by busses, but ime the drivers have been amazing - they care about the kids, they are switched on, and they do a great job. We get the bus drivers gifts equal to those of the teachers. She loves the bus, though perhaps she would like it better if I drove her both ways - 25 min each way it's not happening. I think you have to make the right decision for yourself, given how your own circumstances play out.

[mommy2two babes]

I guess even if not for the bus I woudn't allow her to go on a field trip without me anyways.
I thought I was maybe just being paraniod, but on the recent class trip I went it was confirmed for me.
All of the parent volunteers were given 2-3 kids to take around the zoo on our own.
Some of the things that I witnessed these 4 and 5 Yo doing while they were supposedly being supervised was downright scary to me.

Also I am curious as to what kind of training the PP had to take to drive a bus. I would imagine it varies greatly. My understanding of it here is that they take a week long course through the bus companies and take a driving test to get thier licince to drive that class of vehicle.

[amandaleigh37]

Also I am curious as to what kind of training the PP had to take to drive a bus. I would imagine it varies greatly. My understanding of it here is that they take a week long course through the bus companies and take a driving test to get thier licince to drive that class of vehicle.

If I remember correctly (it was a few years ago), I had to have an initial physical and drug test. Then a 2-day training through the state, along with a written test to get my "permit". Once I had that, I had to train with an instructor for a certain amount of hours... I can't remember how many. But I had to document X hrs of riding with him and X hours of driving with him. And he taught me all about the bus, how to do inspections, everything I'd need for the test. Then once you pass the actual driving test, you still have to do yearly safety trainings through the state. As well as yearly physicals and drug tests (I believe the drug tests may have been required by our agency and not the state? I can't remember.) But it wasn't like you could just decide to be a bus driver & a week later be driving kids around. At least not from my experience This was in Indiana.

(And our agency also held extra safety meetings & trainings once a month for the bus drivers - though obviously that's not required and I don't know how public schools do it.)

[SandraS]

Absolutely.

[Brisen]

Just out of curiosity -- how common are seatbelts on school buses? I always thought school buses never had them, but I'm not sure.

[MacKinnon]

My DD will start riding the bus in the fall. Buses are the safest mode of transportation on the road. Period. You are WAY more likely to get into a crash than your child is to be on a bus. Now, preschoolers, short buses, etc. is another story. There is more that goes into that discussion. School-agers? No debate, buses are the safest option. It's getting ON and OFF the bus that you have to be careful of!

[Phantaja]

I wouldn't but mostly because I have a personal thing against them. I fell asleep and got left on one as a little girl.

[mommy2two babes]

Originally Posted by amandaleigh37

If I remember correctly (it was a few years ago), I had to have an initial physical and drug test. Then a 2-day training through the state, along with a written test to get my "permit". Once I had that, I had to train with an instructor for a certain amount of hours... I can't remember how many. But I had to document X hrs of riding with him and X hours of driving with him. And he taught me all about the bus, how to do inspections, everything I'd need for the test. Then once you pass the actual driving test, you still have to do yearly safety trainings through the state. As well as yearly physicals and drug tests (I believe the drug tests may have been required by our agency and not the state? I can't remember.) But it wasn't like you could just decide to be a bus driver & a week later be driving kids around. At least not from my experience This was in Indiana.

(And our agency also held extra safety meetings & trainings once a month for the bus drivers - though obviously that's not required and I don't know how public schools do it.)

No you are right, you can't decide to be a bus driver and the next week be driving kids around. Before you do any training you have to do a criminal record check and a physical ( no drug test) they have a whole new crop of drivers start every year because its not exactly a great paying job most people stay with. They do training with them all at the same time.
Pretty much if you don't have a criminal record and you pass you can drive a school bus.

[thepeach80]

My Dh took a week long class and can now drive a semi. Other people learn to drive semis w/out taking classes and they're on the road all the time w/ us. Whether it's a week long or a month long, there is a class and tests they have to pass. What kinds of things would you like them to go through? My DH doesn't drive a semi now, but can drive a trash truck and does every once in a while when he's short a driver, but he has to go to a yearly physical and drug test and he's subjected to random drug tests through the year. If he ever gets caught going over the speed limit 15 or mo mph, even in his own vehicle, he loses his CDL and his job. People who are responsible and need these jobs aren't going to screw up, sadly like any other job there are screwed up people. My grandfather drove the handicapped bus after he retired from teaching, he loved it.

[Tizzy]

Ouch! Some of these generalized comments are pretty brutal!
I'm a school bus driver and it took a lot more than a day or two of training.

I had a physical done (including blood and urine test), criminal check plus driving record check, wrote the written exam then spent 40 hours doing training. Plus I have to have my First Aid/CPR including infants and children (above and beyond what is standard) and a minimum of 8 hours every calendar year of additional safety training.

It's not like the bus drivers are completely random, they are usually part of a company who supervises and regulates everything. There's nothing to stop a parent from calling the bus company directly to voice a complaint.

If you have a well-behaved kid, they are much safer on the bus. It's the children whose parents don't enforce the rules that I worry about. The ones who don't understand that it's just like their parents car - you DO NOT stand up, move around, jump over seats, lay on the seat or floor etc. are the ones who cause the most trouble and are the biggest hazards not only to themselves, but also to the other students in the case of an accident.

Statistically school busses are much safer than the other vehicles on the road.
When you think about it, anyone who drives professionally has logged more hours behind the wheel and thus has more experience with the various situations presented along with weather conditions. I feel 10X safer in the bus in a blizzard, pouring rain, freezing rain and even fog because of the size of the vehicle, how high up I sit, the number of mirrors I have available and how famaliar I am with that vehicle. Overall, I feel safer and I feel that my children are safer on the bus.

[mediafreak]

apart from the points discussed here that school buses (with their color coding and relatively mammoth stature) are less prone to accidents, my more memorable experience of riding in a school bus would be the social interactions I gained with my classmates and seatmates. might be such a trivial thing, but it meant a lot to me during the day.

[mommy2two babes]

Originally Posted by thepeach80

Whether it's a week long or a month long, there is a class and tests they have to pass. What kinds of things would you like them to go through?

It isn't so much that I would like them to go through any more per say.
I was simply commenting on a PP's comment that they are professional drivers. I was simply trying to say that aside from a course and tests they are still not that different than the rest of us.

Originally Posted by Little grey mare

Ouch! Some of these generalized comments are pretty brutal!
I'm a school bus driver and it took a lot more than a day or two of training.

I had a physical done (including blood and urine test), criminal check plus driving record check, wrote the written exam then spent 40 hours doing training. Plus I have to have my First Aid/CPR including infants and children (above and beyond what is standard) and a minimum of 8 hours every calendar year of additional safety training.

It's not like the bus drivers are completely random, they are usually part of a company who supervises and regulates everything. There's nothing to stop a parent from calling the bus company directly to voice a complaint.
Sorry that it has come across this way. I looked into becomeing a bus driver in Ontario a few years ago. Essentially the thing you listed above were exactly what I said was required.
While most (all?) school bus drivers in Ontario are employees of a company that doesn't mean much. Every summer when I see multiple ads for bus companies looking for drivers it can get a bit random.

There are some absolute wonderful bus drivers out there as well as some I wouldn't leave my child with for an instant.

If you have a well-behaved kid, they are much safer on the bus. It's the children whose parents don't enforce the rules that I worry about. The ones who don't understand that it's just like their parents car - you DO NOT stand up, move around, jump over seats, lay on the seat or floor etc. are the ones who cause the most trouble and are the biggest hazards not only to themselves, but also to the other students in the case of an accident.

Statistically school busses are much safer than the other vehicles on the road.
When you think about it, anyone who drives professionally has logged more hours behind the wheel and thus has more experience with the various situations presented along with weather conditions. I feel 10X safer in the bus in a blizzard, pouring rain, freezing rain and even fog because of the size of the vehicle, how high up I sit, the number of mirrors I have available and how famaliar I am with that vehicle. Overall, I feel safer and I feel that my children are safer on the bus.

At 4YO I don't know that I could trust my DD to sit still and safely for a long bus trip

[mamazee]

Originally Posted by mommy2two babes

It isn't so much that I would like them to go through any more per say.
I was simply commenting on a PP's comment that they are professional drivers. I was simply trying to say that aside from a course and tests they are still not that different than the rest of us.[/COLOR]

You could say that about tons of jobs. Professional lots of things are no different except for training and tests.

[rachelsmama]

Originally Posted by mediafreak

apart from the points discussed here that school buses (with their color coding and relatively mammoth stature) are less prone to accidents, my more memorable experience of riding in a school bus would be the social interactions I gained with my classmates and seatmates. might be such a trivial thing, but it meant a lot to me during the day.

Sadly, my most memorable experiences on schoolbuses were the "social interactions" too. It's really hard to escape a bully on a school bus, and since the driver is rightfully interested in staying on the road there can be a LOT going on that doesn't get noticed, including some pretty dangerous stuff. I would consider sending my kid if there were adults on the bus to supervise the kids, but I would hesitate if it was just the driver.

The lack of seatbelts is a non-issue to me since buses don't need them.

[TheGirls]

Originally Posted by mommy2two babes

I was simply commenting on a PP's comment that they are professional drivers. I was simply trying to say that aside from a course and tests they are still not that different than the rest of us.

I'm that PP. And I continue to maintain that they are professional drivers. IE they are people who drive for a living. I didn't say they were driving gods or anything.

I'm a professional engineer. I took some courses and some tests. Otherwise I'm just like the rest of you. My father is a professional painter. He paints for a living. Never took a course or a test in it, but he had an apprenticeship where he learned the trade.

So, someone who takes a course in bus driving, then trains in bus driving, then takes a bus driving test, then drives a bus every day isn't a professional bus driver I don't know what to call them?

People who drive more are better at it. Bus drivers drive more than most of us, and they have more driving training than most of us. That means, on average, they tend to be better bus drivers. That's all I'm saying. I'm sure there are some awful ones out there too. That doesn't mean all bus drivers are terrible. Perhaps those of you whose schools are hiring such awful bus drivers should take it up with your local school boards?

[chickabiddy]

Aside from a course and tests, I'm not all that different from anyone else, but I get to teach people about carseats.

Kids are eight times safer in a big yellow bus. I am glad my daughter rides one to school.

[mommy2two babes]

Originally Posted by mamazee

You could say that about tons of jobs. Professional lots of things are no different except for training and tests.

Yes I agree completely. It doesn't neccesarily mean though that I feel comfortable with my babies being with them. I guess the my point about some bus drivers, one in particular that I knew was just doing it for some extra cash. Not something she wanted to do. Basically she was making $ 8.00 per hour for B/A school runs worked another job at night where I worked with her.
She complained about the kids using derogatory language and smoked pot on a regular basis. She would not be someone that I would want driving my child to school. If she was my childs bus driver I probably wouldn't have a clue that she was like that. I guess what I am trying to say is that it is not a great career that you take alot of training and work doing it for the rest of your life. Even at that though a doctor is someone with lots of training but I would never leave my child alone with one.
Sorry to carry on, not trying to make anyone angry. I am I guess just trying to sort out my own issues and feelings about it.

[amandaleigh37]

It seems like there is a big difference between trusting a bus driver to properly and safely operate the vehicle and get it from point A to point B, and a bus driver as a babysitter.

I have no experience with public schools and buses... I drove for a preschool and I was also one of the teachers who was with the kids all day. So a different situation obviously. But because our kids were so young, there was always at least one adult on the bus in addition to me. I understand that's not the case with say, kingergarteners riding the "big bus" at regular schools. That part I totally understand.

[Hazelnut]

I didn't realize they were so much safer. I mean to some extent it is common sense, but I didn't know about the statistics. I'm glad to hear that.

Anyway, we are about three blocks from school, but they offer a bus service to the kids who live across the commuter train tracks. There's a tunnel under the tracks now, but bus service persists. I shocked myself by allowing my kindergartener to ride it to and from school because he was SO incredibly excited to do so, and it did make my life easier at times with littler ones in the middle of winter. The short distance made me feel better, and I trusted the driver.

My biggest concern was the school- like someone said, forgetting that some kids are very young, and really allowing some mess ups like a pp said.

For field trips, the distance was farther, but they seemed pretty organized. I was more nervous about the actual field trip.