School buses

[gunslingerdick]

...are the worst. I f*cking detest them. I hate them mostly for the massive inconvenience they cause me. But there are several reasons to hate them. The drivers are, by and large, the most incompetent people on the planet. I wouldn't allow most of those people to look after my goldfish. Secondly, nothing positive ever happens on a school bus. Kids are routinely bullied on buses because the supervision is so poor. Next, buses are extremely inefficient and bad for the environment. I'm not a scientist, but I can't imagine those clouds of black smoke billowing out of the exhaust being good for the environment. And lastly, most buses don't have seat belts. Think about that. We have laws that state kids under 12 must have seat belts on when in a car yet we allow masses of them to ride unsecured in a bus.

#deathtoschoolbuses

 

[TarHeelNation11]

And.... it causes yuppy moms to DRIVE their kids to the bus stop (usually less than ~.25 miles) and sit there with their cars in idle, so precious Johnny doesn't have to expose himself to the brutal outside elements until right when the bus pulls up.

Drives me crazy.

 

[gunslingerdick]

And.... it causes yuppy moms to DRIVE their kids to the bus stop (usually less than ~.25 miles) and sit there with their cars in idle, so precious Johnny doesn't have to expose himself to the brutal outside elements until right when the bus pulls up.

Drives me crazy.

OMG, agreed. I didn't mention that in my rant but yes X1000. In addition, when I was a kid, there was like one stop per mile. You had to actually walk a little ways to get to the bus stop. And there were like 20 kids at each stop. Now, I swear, I watch buses pick up a kid, drive about 100 yards and stop and pick up another kid, drive another 100 yards, stop and pick up another single. It's ridiculous.

 

[coryfly]

Our system is moving to propane buses, which are apparently extremely efficient.

 

[tarheel0910]

...are the worst. I f*cking detest them. I hate them mostly for the massive inconvenience they cause me. But there are several reasons to hate them. The drivers are, by and large, the most incompetent people on the planet. I wouldn't allow most of those people to look after my goldfish. Secondly, nothing positive ever happens on a school bus. Kids are routinely bullied on buses because the supervision is so poor. Next, buses are extremely inefficient and bad for the environment. I'm not a scientist, but I can't imagine those clouds of black smoke billowing out of the exhaust being good for the environment. And lastly, most buses don't have seat belts. Think about that. We have laws that state kids under 12 must have seat belts on when in a car yet we allow masses of them to ride unsecured in a bus.

#deathtoschoolbuses

I'm sure you would be much happier with the additional 50 million cars on the road. That wouldn't change your commute at all.

 

[gunslingerdick]

I'm sure you would be much happier with the additional 50 million cars on the road. That wouldn't change your commute at all.

I live about 2 miles from my office so the "commute" isn't really the issue. But point taken. I guess what I'm really rooting for is less people in the world. Certainly less people where ever I want to be.

 

[tarheel0910]

I guess what I'm really rooting for is less people in the world. Certainly less people where ever I want to be.

If you let people know you are coming ahead of time, there probably won't be as many when you get there.

 

[gunslingerdick]

If you let people know you are coming ahead of time, there probably won't be as many when you get there.

I actually laughed at that. Not bad.

 

[nctransplant]

I had to walk to school, uphill both ways, in the snow.

 

[gunslingerdick]

I had to walk to school, uphill both ways, in the snow.

I really did walk to middle school. About half a mile. But I used to leave extra early so I could meet some buddies in the woods and smoke cigarettes.

 

[Raising Heel]

I guess what I'm really rooting for is less people in the world. Certainly less people where ever I want to be.

Definitely this.

My exact thoughts driving into work this morning: "There are too many people in this city. There is at least 1 too many mes."

 

[coolwaterunc]

Definitely this.

My exact thoughts driving into work this morning: "There are too many people in this city. There is at least 1 too many mes."

I think that everyday. School buses and city buses only make it worse. There are WAY too many CATS bus stops, by the way. The bus stops, then everyone behind it wants to get over, and then people in the left lane are dumb enough to slow down and even stop to let the people in the right over. It's rage inducing.

 

[coolwaterunc]

By the way, why do buses have to stop at every railroad crossing? There's no train there, just freaking go. You'll know when one is coming by the flashing lights and the arm coming down in front of you. I don't get it.

 

[ticket2ride04]

By the way, why do buses have to stop at every railroad crossing? There's no train there, just freaking go. You'll know when one is coming by the flashing lights and the arm coming down in front of you. I don't get it.

You ever worry the lights and arm might be out of order?

 

[tarheel0910]

By the way, why do buses have to stop at every railroad crossing? There's no train there, just freaking go. You'll know when one is coming by the flashing lights and the arm coming down in front of you. I don't get it.

I'm sure it all began with a bus hitting a train and the company/school/state getting sued. Most stupid safety things can be traced back to a lawsuit.

 

[coolwaterunc]

You ever worry the lights and arm might be out of order?

If you're worried about them, you can also, you know, see the train and hear the damn thing from 20 miles away.

 

[DeanFor President]

The seat belt thing has ticked me off for years. The state can mandate that we wear them in our private vehicles, but when they take custody of our kids, suddenly their safety is not so important.

But this what really creams my grits.........I work fairly close to home, 15 minutes or so, and 2 days a week I have to go home for lunch to let my dogs out. There is a high school on the secondary road closest to my house, and since I go to lunch late, sometimes I get to that area just as school is letting out. The school security dude, not even a cop, comes out to the road and holds up his hand for traffic to stop. Both ways. And he stays like that while EVERY SINGLE BUS leaves the lot. There are probably 40 or 50 of them. It takes up to 25 minutes, while traffic is stopped in both directions. Often there is a 1-2 minute gap in between buses exiting, but no traffic is allowed to move. Why can't they just let each bus get into traffic when it's ready to pull out? Does anyone know if it is legal for them to stop traffic in this manner? It is absolutely maddening. How did school buses become the priority vehicle to the point that dozens and dozens of vehicles have to be held up to allow them to exit the school?

 

[tarheel0910]

How did school buses become the priority vehicle to the point that dozens and dozens of vehicles have to be held up to allow them to exit the school?

It's because they don't have seat belts. They want to make sure no one hits them.

 

[Grayhead]

So i was sitting behind a school bus this morning. Kids get on the bus. Driver sits for close to a minute. Driver ahead of me passes the bus with the stop sign out. Bus driver blows the horn at him. Bus proceeds to move very slowly down the road. As soon as i hit a passing lane, i passed her. She blew at me. She almost got the California howdy

 

[Hark_The_Sound_2010]

Does anyone know if it is legal for them to stop traffic in this manner?

You said it's just a security dude and not a cop. Why not cruise past him next time, flip him the bird, and find out?

 

[coolwaterunc]

This thread is putting me in a bad mood.

 

[Hark_The_Sound_2010]

So i was sitting behind a school bus this morning. Kids get on the bus. Driver sits for close to a minute. Driver ahead of me passes the bus with the stop sign out. Bus driver blows the horn at him. Bus proceeds to move very slowly down the road. As soon as i hit a passing lane, i passed her. She blew at me. She almost got the California howdy

Ya, I've noticed that they get off to making people wait. I've been behind busses that put their sign out as soon as they pull up to a kid's house. So everyone has to sit and wait for the kid and parent to come outside, cross the street, get on the bus, parent cross the street again, and then go. I don't want to endanger a kid, but if I can see that the kid is still inside their house and some dbag wants to put the sign out - I'm passing*, zero F's given.

*After a thorough 360 to see if there's a cop around.

 

[tarheel0910]

*After a thorough 360 to see if there's a cop around.

A lot of the buses around here have cameras on them, so if you pass them while the stop sign is out you get a ticket in the mail. It works like the red light cams.

 

[TarHeelMark]

In NC, if you're on a five line road where the middle lane is a turn lane, by law you don't have to stop for the bus if it's on the other side of the lanes that you are in.... but every damn SOB in front of me stops when they don't have to. It kinda pisses me off.

 

[BillyL]

This thread is putting me in a bad mood.

You . . ? I'm about ready to slap somebody . . and I don't even know why.

 

[UNC71-00]

I ride a bike to work. Buses never bother me.

 

[gunslingerdick]

I ride a bike to work. Buses never bother me.

 

[strummingram]

You ever worry the lights and arm might be out of order?

Never...

My grandfather, of the same name as me (I'm the III'rd), was killed by a train hitting him. I've already lived longer than he did. The odds of me getting hit by a train have got to be in the billions. Even when I ride my bike, there are two train crossings that I ride over that don't even have the lights and arms that lower, the roads are too rural. I always hit them at full speed cuz I know I've got the odds beat.

"Train dodge... dig it... "

 

[Raising Heel]

This thread is putting me in a bad mood.

This is actually my kind of thread. ** points at @gunslingerdick **

A lot of the buses around here have cameras on them, so if you pass them while the stop sign is out you get a ticket in the mail. It works like the red light cams.

Shhh, don't tell him.

But this what really creams my grits.........

Sir, please, this is a family site.