Tragic accident involving a 3rd gen today

Nor am I here. I'm simply expressing my lack of understanding the distinction between the two.

Carry on grumpy pants.

 

Keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

 

Yes, it WAS equipped with the swing out arm as mandated by the state of Indiana. And that WAS out at the time. It was broken off.

 

Charlie dont pray.

 

The childrens father was called out to the scene to identify his kids. Imagine the horror...

 

Or rely on hope.

Fortune favors the prepared.

There's also some ancient Chinese stuff I subscribe to where someone said "The king is strong in words, but weak in actions". Better to do than talk about doing.

 

yeah I can't even begin to imagine what that must have been like, and what kind of impact that's going to have on his and his family's life going forward. I sincerely don't know how you could go on after something like that.

 

Does Indiana require the arm that blocks the oncoming lane? I think one of you are talking about the arm that blocks the lane, the other is talking about the stop sign. Those lane blockers wouldn't last past mid September.

 

True it could have possibly prevented it but there are so many features now to help drivers who are not paying attention. We are not fixing to root cause. Still sad for all involved in the horrible accident.

 

As a retired school bus driver let me add this.

Distracted driving is of course a possibility.

But you may not realize the number of drivers on the roads that have no clue about the school bus stop laws(or any motor vehicle laws).
There is a good chance this driver didn't know/forgot she is supposed to stop and that there might be students crossing the road. In other words, not distracted at all.

I had a red light school bus stop on a main road that drivers regularly blew through. Now in Michigan, students couldn't cross at that stop due to the state rules.
But drivers were required to stop.

Who were the drivers? High school students rushing to school which was a couple hundred feet away.
Drivers that were within several years of having been trained on the school bus stop laws before they could get a drivers license.

In Michigan, the school bus driver can get your license plate number and car description and give it to the local police. They will send the registered owner a ticket. I gave up doing that because school bus drivers were no longer being subpoenaed to court. That meant the local court was plea bargaining the tickets for cash without points on the drivers license.

 

ALL states require the swing out stop sign. That's Federal (DOT). Indiana requires the swing out "lane blocker" which was extended. Not sure (yet) but I think that's DOT (Fed) also. It was commented on by the Indiana State Trooper who gave the initial presser that the "lane blocker" was extended.

 

Has anyone considered there may have been a malfunction with the schoolbus warning light system? Not likely, but you have to look at all sides. It seems like many times when these high-profile accidents occur, there is always some other factor, or multiple factors at work than what everybody first suspects. (aviation accidents are famous for this) When one of my kids was younger, the bus pulled up and the lights didn't come on. It happens.

 

Everybody knows that if a school bus is stopped that there is a high chance that kids are around. No excuses.

 

Especially in the early morning and afternoon

 

How could one not know or forget to stop? There is literally a stop sign on the bus. It has the word "STOP" on it. It has flashing lights to grab your attention.

 

I got rear ended a few weeks ago (in a 2015 trd sport) while stopped when a school bus going the opposite direction was letting kids off. I had the truck in park for a minute or two, lots of kids getting off. I was probably 5 cars ahead of the bus, crapload of blinking red lights and stop sign, no ambiguity about what the situation was. Guy in a hyundai compact blasted into the suburban behind me, and the suburban smashed into my bumper. Hyundai totaled, and it's airbags didnt even go off. Hyundai asshat then said "I looked down to see how much gas I had". Many people on this planet are just idiots, and there are not many things that happen in cars that we should be labeling as "accidents".

 

They are gonna have to put ambulance style lights and maybe a siren or something when kids cross the street.
In my area, the school bus picks up kids and pulls over on the side of the highway. No lights, no stop sign. I still slow down and watch for kids as I pass it. Feels weird... 2 lane highway, speed limit is 55.

It's a problem in Hawaii too. They are putting cameras on the side of busses so they can fine drivers that don't stop for the bus when it's lights are flashing and sign is out.

 

I grew up in CA and around me, not many people rode the bus. They just weren’t common. When I joined the navy and got stationed in VA, that’s when I learned you stop for busses. I only knew because people in front of me stopped forcing me to stop. Otherwise I probably would’ve blown right by them not giving it a second thought. What’s obvious for some isn’t for others. Probably not what happened in this case, but wanted to throw that in there.

 

People run street stop signs all the time...


Here's another thing.. do bus drivers get out with a stop sign to act as cross guards at stops? This is something bus drivers did when I was in elementary and middle school, but these days I do not see that when I stop for buses.

 

But I doubt it's because they don't know or forgot what it means.