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The familiar yellow school bus has become one of the most powerful icons in American society. Day in and day out, the nation's 418,000 yellow buses travel more than 4.5 billion miles a year at a cost of nearly $10 billion, carrying 24 million children - nearly half of all the nation's children - safely to and from school. Yet few Americans realize the constant behind-the-scenes effort to make the ride a safe, positive experience for every one of those children.

Young people were first transported to school at public expense in the late 19th century - first in horse-drawn wagons and later in converted trucks. By the '20s and '30s, the first vehicles designed specifically for pupil transportation became available. Yet safety continued to be a concern, culminating in 1936 in the first set of national school bus standards.

"School bus transportation continues to be one of the safest forms of transportation" according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It's far, far safer to ride in a yellow bus than in the family car, for instance. This superb record is the result of a consistent cooperative effort by a host of individuals and groups. Everyone with a stake in student transportation - parents, teachers, drivers, school administrators, transportation managers, bus manufacturers and government officials - has a role to play. (...)

Beyond safety, which will always be priority No. 1, student transportation faces several other challenges today. For instance: Driver training and retention. Student management School district budgetary limitations. Young people being transported on vehicles that haven't been specifically designed to carry school children. An ever-lengthening list of federal and state mandates.

original NSTA doument here

Since 1989, 1,445 people have died in school bus-related crashes — an average of 131 fatalities per year. Most of the people who lost their lives in those crashes (65 percent) were occupants of other vehicles involved. Nonoccupants (pedestrians, bicyclists, etc.) accounted for 25 percent of the deaths, and school bus occupants accounted for 10 percent (drivers 2 percent, passengers 8 percent).

Since 1989, 226 school-age pedestrians (less than 19 years old) have died in school bus-related crashes. Nearly two-thirds (66 percent) were killed by school buses, 5 percent by vehicles functioning as school buses, and 29 percent by other vehicles involved in the crashes.

More than half of all school-age pedestrians killed in school bus-related crashes were between the ages of 5 and 7.

On average, 15 school-age pedestrians are killed by school buses (or vehicles used as school buses) each year, and 6 are killed by other vehicles involved in school bus-related crashes.

More school-age pedestrians are killed in the afternoon than in the morning, with 42 percent of the fatalities occurring in crashes between 3:00 and 4:00 PM.

1. When you get off, take five giant steps away from the bus, out of the danger zone.
   
2. Cross in front of the bus, and make sure you maintain eye contact with the driver.
   
3. Never go back for anything and never bend down near or under the bus.

Safety tips . . . for parents

1. Assure your children you won't get mad if they don't go back for a jacket they've left on the bus, or school work they've dropped under a wheel.
   
2. Encourage them to sit quietly in their seat and follow the driver's instructions on bus safety.

Safety tips . . . for motorists.

1. Stop when the bus's warning lights are flashing, or the stop arm comes out.
   
2. Share the road with the yellow bus

original NSTA doument here

thanks

D.

The following story appeared in The Globe Online:

Date: 11/08/99

Headline: Suspect says his car is firebombed

Story Intro:

LONDONDERRY, N.H. - A man charged with trying to kill another driver by ramming her car last week says he has since received threatening calls and his car has been firebombed. Yesterday, his house was damaged in a two-alarm fire.

Wednesday, November 10, 1999

Subject: Road Rage and the School Bus Driver

Dear Dr. Driving:
Great to hear from you...Do you travel to seminars? Are you willing to have someone else present your materials?

The NH School Transportation Association is always looking for speakers. I am a board member and would love to have your material presented to all interested drivers, managers, instructors in the school bus industry.

I am a certified NH school bus instructor and feel your positive approach on such a detailed topic could be enjoyed by many.

D.

DrDriving,

I enjoyed your article in Law Enforcement Tech, 9/99 issue on "Drive it Home". I borrowed the magazine from my husband, who is a police chief. I was hoping you could give me and my 10 school bus drivers ideas on preventing road rage from occurring. We spend alot of time concerned with the safety of our children on the bus, which sometimes holds up the motorist, thus causing some drivers a short delay during on road pick ups or drop offs. Your input would greatly benefit myself and all drivers.

sincerely

NHSCHOOLBUS driver/instructor
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi,

If you're interested in School Bus Safety Programs, here is a Web site that has a lot of information on it:

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/buses/

On the other hand if you wanted something about driving psychology, check out this article.

You might also like to mention to your husband my site on Police Initiatives against aggressive driving.

You might alos want something on Driver Education in relation to Road Rage

Or else if you have specific questions after checking those sites, please write again.

Leon James
DrDriving

School busses contribute greatly to the stress and aggravation felt by lots of people on a daily basis. School busses are a major obstacle, that can make you late for work by hours. This is my personal opinion, but I can't understand why school busses have to pick up every child at their own driveway. Talk about stop and go - the little stop sign that flips out on the side of the bus doesn't even have time to retract before it comes out again. Why aren't there collection places where the school bus pulls off the road, loads/unloads and then goes another mile or two to the next collection place? Instead people are backed up for miles behind them. Sooner or later, someone will get ticked off enough and pass the bus, which is of course illegal.

In Germany, I rode a school bus till 4th grade. After that, we had to use public transportation or parents, bicycles, mopeds, whatever. Here, we seem to baby all the kids until they graduate highschool. I could argue that by forcing traffic to stop and wait for the bus to load and unload, the message that gets implanted into children's minds is that when they step into the street, everything else comes to a halt and there is no danger. Unfortunately, next time they step out of the carpool van after cheerleading practice, nobody will stop.

Regardless though, if we could get school busses off the road to collection places, traffic would flow much better and people's tempers wouldn't flare as much. Like I said in the beginning, I drive 75 miles one way to work, 35 of that is rural highways through 4 counties. If I get behind a school bus, it's over. One might turn off, but I'll catch another one half a mile down the road. Byt he time I reach the interstate, it's a 6 lane paring lot. There is another part where the anger and rage come from. You get stuck like that, you know you'll be at least an hour late, maybe more. People don't like to be late because they have been late too often, have a meeting, an important presentation, whatever, so they try to make up for the lost time by driving insanely fast, passing right and left, squeezing by on the emergency lane, illegally using the HOV lanes or who knows what.

Email your opinion to DrDriving

By Earle Eldridge, USA TODAY

Soon, you will be able to use the Internet to observe the speed, location and direction of your car while it is driven anywhere in the world. That could ease the nerves of worried parents with teenage drivers and put an end to unapproved joyrides. Adult children of older drivers could keep a watchful eye on their parents. The vehicle can be tracked through a home computer, laptop or cellular phone with Web access.

GeoSpatial Technologies, based in Santa Ana, Calif., plans to begin selling the vehicle-tracking device, called GlobalTrax, next fall. It will cost $150 for installation and $50 to $70 in monthly fees.

(...)

Established in 1993, GeoSpatial sells a variety of in-vehicle mapping and tracking devices mainly to fire, ambulance and police departments. The devices employ wireless communications, the Internet and global positioning system (GPS) technology.

(...)

But GlobalTrax will be the first device that lets someone monitor movement of their vehicle from any Web browser without downloading a bunch of files.

(...)

Already consumers are lining up, via the company's Web site, www.geospatialtech.com, to join the pilot test. Linda Crown of Buffalo Grove, Ill., says she is considering GlobalTrax for her car so she can track the whereabouts of her soon-to-be-driving 16-year-old daughter.

(...)

GlobalTrax will come in two formats, either a box permanently installed in the vehicle or a portable unit that can be carried to different vehicles. After users log onto a Web site, they identify the vehicle and enter a password. A map display will appear with an image of a small vehicle moving along a street. Next to the vehicle will be its speed and direction.

On cell phones with Web access, users will see text with speed, direction and location — but no map.

(...)

But it has added a twist to the system. Laidlaw wants to monitor whether bus drivers actually stop at all railroad crossings and open the door to check for trains as required by law.

Laidlaw's GlobalTrax also has a panic button for drivers, and it will record all stops at scheduled pickup and drop-off points.

But probably the most interesting feature is an automated call to a student's home when the bus is near. Under the project, special-needs students will get an automatic phone call telling them to be ready, because the bus is 10 minutes away.

(...)

Graham says Laidlaw also is considering use of the GlobalTrax technology to identify students on the bus. While still in development, the idea is to record when a student boards and leaves a bus. That could help ensure that no student is accidentally left on a bus.

''It would be nice to know who is on the bus and where the buses are,'' Graham says.

(...)

Capt. Tim Riley of the Newport Beach, Calif., police, says his department plans to install GlobalTrax in 50 squad cars.

The system will automatically give patrol officers directions to the location of a police call.

''It will increase our ability to get to incidents. It will map the quickest route, and it can provide one-way street information,'' Riley says.

Police dispatchers also will get information indicating the exact location of every squad car. Riley says the Newport Beach fire department might also use GlobalTrax.

(...)

original here

I think we all agree that tailgating is wrong and realize the implications thereof. We should pass laws mandating everyone to live in a happy shiny world etc. The reality is that if you don't like being tailgated it's probably not a good idea to block traffic in the passing as that is where 99% of blatant tailgating occurs.
It's like the guy who abhors physical violence that walks into a rowdy bar. He starts to verbally assault the baddest guy there and proceeds to get his ass kicked. When he attempts to whine and cry to the rest of the patrons that it was wrong for the man to hit him, all they can do is look in bewilderment and ask "they why the hell did you do that?". Same question I ask of people who come here whining about tailgaters after they admit that they don't respect the passing lane. Duh.

About 2 hours ago, I would have agreed with you more than I do now. I just had the most bizarre tailgating experience. I entered a line of cars on an on-ramp to the main local highway (Roosevelt Ave entrance to the Schuylkill, eastbound, for the Philadelphians among us). Traffic was heavy on the highway and even on the on-ramp. Suddenly I hear honking behind me -- a SCHOOL BUS is less than a foot off my tail and is honking me! So I continue to crawl with the line of cars onto the highway -- and this idiot is on my tail and honking the whole time. When I got onto the highway, I purposely stayed slow so he'd pass me -- PA has no front license plates and I wanted to get his -- and he finally passed me, tailgated someone else, and then moved in front of me. At that point my husband wrote down his license number and I moved into the middle lane and watched him tailgate the person in front of him and then get off at an exit (Ridge Ave). And I'm talking less than 1' away from whatever car was in front of him! And there was no 'left lane hog' in this story -- the whole thing took place on an on-ramp, in a right lane, and in a middle lane (of three), plus traffic was very heavy in all three lanes and moving densely but evenly along at 40-60 mph.

Usually, when I see a real nutcase, I shrug and hope I never see him again -- but the fact that this was a school bus makes me think maybe I should report it to someone? Any suggestions?


COMMENTS by another reader:

Hmmm... a school bus tailgating? Nah... not possible you say... . Well believe it or not, I had a similar experience. I was driving back home to the windward side when I encountered a caravan of school buses. Usually bus drivers are very courteous and respectful enough to drive in the right lane. But for some reason one of the bus drivers thought he was driving a Formula race car and decided to drive in the left lane. What he didn't realize (or maybe he did?) was that he was struggling along doing barely 45 mph. The other buses were in the right lane doing about the same speed! The driver refused to let anyone pass him and sped up whenever there was an opening thus closing any possible gap. I'm glad to say that the school bus had no passengers. But, it makes me wonder how this guy drives when he does have passengers? If I were this guy I would report this incident to the school bus company. Unfortunately, in my situation, the school bus was unmarked so I have no idea which company it belonged to.

I have to disagree with this guy in that he says "99% of tailgating occurs in the left lane". According to personal experience I would say that it's about 50 - 50. Almost daily I witness vehicles in the right lane tailgating. And it's not as if they can't pass in the left, often the left lane is unoccupied or else there's enough room to change lanes and pass. And how many times have I seen people in the middle (of a three lane roadway), use the right lane as a passing lane and then swerve back across two lanes into the left lane. Whenever I witness this I wish that I was a cop (policeman) so I could pull over these morons and slap them with a ticket for reckless driving.

School bus related crashes killed 128 persons and injured an estimated 19,000 persons nationwide in 1997, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and General Estimates System (GES).

Over the past six years, about 66% of the deaths in fatal school bus related crashes were occupants of vehicles other than the school bus and 24% were pedestrians. About 6% were school bus passengers and 1% were school bus drivers.

Of the pedestrians killed in school bus related crashes over this period, approximately 76% were struck by the school bus.

Of the people injured in school bus related crashes from 1992 through 1997, about 46% were school bus passengers, 9% were school bus drivers, and another 41% were occupants of other vehicles.

Although drivers of all vehicles are required to stop for a school bus when it is stopped to load or discharge passengers, children should not rely on them to do so. The National Safety Council encourages parents to teach their youngsters these rules for getting on and off the school bus:

1. When waiting for the bus, stay away from traffic and avoid roughhousing or other behavior that can lead to carelessness. Do not stray onto streets, alleys or private property.
   

2. Line up away from the street or road as the school bus approaches. Wait until the bus has stopped and the door opens before stepping onto the roadway.
   

3. Use the hand rail when stepping onto the bus.
   

4. When on the bus, find a seat and sit down. Loud talking or other noise can distract the bus driver and is not allowed. Never put head, arms or hands out of the window.
   

5. Keep aisles clear -- books or bags are tripping hazards and can block the way in an emergency.
   

6. Before you reach your stop, get ready to leave by getting your books and belongings together.
   

7. At your stop, wait for the bus to stop completely before getting up from your seat. Then, walk to the front door and exit, using the hand rail.
   

8. If you have to cross the street in front of the bus, walk at least ten feet ahead of the bus along the side of the road, until you can turn around and see the driver. Make sure that the driver can see you. Wait for a signal from the driver before beginning to cross. When the driver signals, walk across the road, keeping an eye out for sudden traffic changes.
   

9. Do not cross the center line of the road until the driver has signaled that it is safe for you to begin walking.
   

10. Stay away from the bus' rear wheels at all times.

The Council also suggests that parents review with their children the correct way to cross the street.

• Youngsters should always stop at the curb or the edge of the road and look left, then right, and then left again before crossing.
  
• They should continue looking in this manner until they are safely across.
  
• If students' vision is blocked by a parked car or other obstacle, they should move out to where drivers can see them and they can see other vehicles -- then stop, and look left-right-left again.
  

By Frances Ann Burns

BOSTON (APBnews.com) -- A veteran school bus driver died in an apparent road rage incident after she was run over by another motorist, police said.

Dana Lombardi, 45, of Chelsea was arraigned today and formally charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident, said David Falcone, a spokesman for the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. A judge set bail at $10,000, and Lombardi may face other charges.

(...).

Lombardi surrendered Thursday night, about three hours after Sandra Thomas was killed. Witnesses say Thomas may have been involved in a traffic accident. Witnesses saw Thomas lying on the hood of a dark blue, late-model Volkswagen Beetle believed to be Lombardi's in an attempt to keep him at the scene. Witnesses reported that the driver took off, running over Thomas when she fell in front of the car, Falcone said.

"We have a multitude of witnesses who have to be interviewed," he added.

(...)

Thomas was returning a small school bus to the garage at the time, said Paul Keith, general manager of Laidlaw Education Services, the company that operates Boston's school buses. Another bus driver radioed to the dispatcher that he had seen Thomas parked by the side of the road and outside her bus and thought she had been involved in a minor accident with another driver.

By the time the dispatcher contacted City Square in Boston's Charlestown neighborhood, a mile from the bus garage, Thomas was dead.

Tracey Lynn, a spokeswoman for the Boston public schools, said the death appears to be unprecedented in the district's history. The district owns the buses, but Laidlaw employs the drivers and provides maintenance and service.

(...).

Thomas, 57, was the mother of two grown children who live in California and had two grandchildren, Peters said. She had shared a home in Everett near Boston for 22 years with another woman.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another version:

Co-workers, pals mourn school bus driver
killed in road rage case

Laurel J. Sweet

Dec. 5 - Left with their grief and unanswered questions, co-workers of a slain Boston public school bus driver say they're only now realizing how rich a life was lost to an apparent flash of road rage.

“THERE'S ALL SORTS of stories going around the bus yard about how she lent people money and would pick people up who needed a ride,” said a woman last night outside Sandra Thomas' wake in Everett. “She was one of only two drivers who'd polish the floor of her bus. She actually polished the floor,” said the woman, an employee of Laidlaw, the company that supplies the Boston School Department with buses, who declined to give her name.

(...)

Thomas, a 57-year-old Everett grandmother and 27-year veteran school bus driver, was crushed to death Thursday night under the wheels of a Volkswagen Beetle on Rutherford Avenue in Charlestown.

Police are investigating whether a fender-bender between Thomas and the Volkswagen's driver, Dana Lombardi, 45, of Chelsea, set off the deadly chain of events. Witnesses said Thomas got out of her bus, argued with Lombardi through his window and somehow wound up on the Volkswagen's hood, only to be run over after he allegedly gunned the car to shake her off. Lombardi fled the scene, but later turned himself in to police.

Free on bail, he is charged with leaving the scene of an accident after causing a death. As she passed out yellow lapel ribbons to mourners, Edwards said Thomas' violent death has other drivers wondering how they'll react to future traffic incidents. “I think (Thomas) died standing up for all of us,” she said.

(...)

original here