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Thursday, January 8, 2009

STOP When Red Lights Flash



Yesterday morning, I drove to the end of our road so Christian could catch his school bus. We waited in our vehicle till the bus pulled up, it stopped and he got in. No sooner did I turn around to head home, I noticed a car wedged under the bus. I'm not even sure how that happened. This is 2 lanes of traffic, that both travel the same direction. The bus was still stopped. The red vehicle some how got rear ended, by possibly that car that is under the bus? And the back of that car was also smooshed. I got on the bus to make sure everyone was ok and everyone was. The bus driver had to wait for the police to get there. I talked with Christian for a minute, he was fine. All the kids seemed fine, just excited over all the commotion. I had to go back to the house to get Ashlyn so I could take her to school but we couldn't get out of our drive onto the main road with the bus and emergency vehicles blocking the way. They finally got the bus moved and let us out onto the road. Traffic was backed up going both directions for at least a mile from what I could see. On the way to Ashlyn's school, the other lane was completely stopped (I have to pull out onto the main road then make a u-turn to go back the other direction for her school) and a nice man from Blue Collar Joes was handing out donuts to the people stuck in traffic.

So the moral of this story is, you see a school bus, proceed with caution. Stop when its red lights are flashing, and slow down and be careful while driving near the bus. Children's lives are at stake when ignoramuses get impatient and can't wait the minute or two it takes for the children to load or unload the school bus. Now, not only was the impatient person late, possibly injured, I don't know, but this moron also made everyone heading from both directions late to their destinations as well.

I have no tolerance for people who drive erratically around a school bus. When we lived in Missouri, a 9 year old neighbor boy was hit and killed by an impatient driver while he was crossing the road in front of his own house to board his school bus. The person flew past the flashing lights and stop arm and didn't even slow down when she hit this child.

For more on the story, you can read it HERE

Reading one of the stories tells that the driver of the red truck was following the vehicle in front of him too closely....hmmm ya think? You know I've mentioned before what terrible tailgaters alot of Virginia drivers seem to be. I really wish the police officers would start cracking down on these dangerous drivers and issuing citations.
Also small discrepancy in the stories. This did not happen in front of Botetourt Commons. The bus was not stopped at a light. The bus was right before Botetourt Commons at our bus stop, stopped picking up a bus rider, my son.

27 comments:

  1. I'm glad no children were injured in this. Not the way anyone wants to begin the day. It's so upsettng to see a school bus involved in an accident.

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  2. I cannot believe that. glad all the kids were safe. Your heart must of stopped for a bit there. Can't imagine.
    Good advice for all, too.

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  3. What a relief none of the children was hurt! I hope the car driver escaped without injury too..
    They say speed kills but I think impatience is at least as much to blame..

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  4. My heart would have stopped if I had seen this or had a child on this bus, Tanya. My Hubby is what I consider to be an aggressive driver. Have talked to him about this for 10 years. I hope I never see the day that he is the car under the bus or the one that hurts a child... frightens me, but nothing I can do about it. Sooo glad your son is okay.

    Di

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  5. Oh wow Tanya, I'm just so glad your son and all the other kids were okay. I can't believe how careless people are. We're all in such a big hurry. It's sad.

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  6. Wow, thankfully nobody was hurt. Your son could have been next to the bus or on the step when that happened. Scary. Sounds like you kept your cool.

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  7. Glad everything ended well! Was there any ice on the road to make that happen?

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  8. No, no ice at all. Just poor driving.

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  9. Glad your son and all the other children were fine.

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  10. Oh my I'm glad no one was hurt. I was in a school bus accident one time when I was chaperoning a band trip for my daughter when she was in high school. A girl talking on her cell phone pulled out in front of our bus and the bus ran over the hood of her car and started to tip over. I was sitting right behind the bus driver and I don't know how he kept that bus from tipping over but he did. All the kids on the bus were knocked out of their seats and some were hurt seriously enough to go the emergency room. I still have nightmares about that! You are right--people need to respect school buses and treat them as if their own kid was on that bus!

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  11. Wow, what a story! Buses are pretty big and hefty to protect their precious cargo. I'm glad it did its job and no one was hurt.

    People in Mississippi are not very good drivers either. They follow too close and talk on the phone all the time. That is one thing I miss from Europe - talking on the phone while driving over there is a BIG no no. And it really does make a difference.

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  12. Any accident is upsetting, but those involving children particularly so. It is incredible that no one was hurt. The worry is it will happen again. I hope you are feeling ok. Must have been very stressful for you.

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  13. Thank goodness all the kids were ok. People can be so stupid when in a rush or being impatient behind the wheel. This person learnt a lesson today. Lucky you had your camera with you!

    You would never get a person giving out donuts here! Nice man.

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  14. Thank God the kids were ok. What a way to start the morning.

    Thanks for visiting my blog - Has San Diego changed much to you?

    Best,

    Nancy
    sandiego-daily-photo.blogspot.com

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  15. YOWCH! I can almost hear the crunch looking at that picture. Your photo is much more dramatic than the one in the local paper. Thank goodness no one was hurt, but lessons to be learned for some drivers, hopefully.

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  16. The kids probably thought it all an adventure.

    AT least they have learned a lesson.

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  17. That is a pretty crazy-looking crash. The police report is interesting, I'm sure.

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  18. Thank God everybody was ok and you were there ,right away, to make sure your son and all the other kids were ok!!

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  19. school buses going down the road are sacred, like ambulances, funerals. You just stop and wait. or you get crammed under the bus!

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  20. some accidents are terrible but avoidable

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  21. quand on conduit un bus scolaire, on doit encore faire plus attention, surtout avec des enfants. Heureusement tout c'est bien finit.

    when driving a school bus, it still needs more attention, especially with children. Fortunately it all ended well.

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  22. Very glad that neither children nor bus driver were hurt Tanya. - Dave

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  23. How scary to think it happened so quickly and with your son on the bus. I'm so glad no one was injured and that you were there to help out. And fie on all those tailgaters.

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  24. Very scary! I hate how fast people drive, and they're never paying close enough attention!!

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  25. all must careful yourself.try to drive safely.go to safe drive

    suzeen

    outsources BOP & call center solutions.

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  26. i am very glad to know that no one was injured in the accident.

    paul

    outsources BPO &call center solution.

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