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Should school buses be required to stop at all railroad crossings?

Ever seen a crash where a car or van or bus catches fire? I have. I've also been unfortunate enough to see people die that way. Want to watch as 50 young elementary kids are torched because a school bus driver has no hope of unlocking 50 seatbelts before the bus burns to the ground?

Kids can undo their own seatbelts, ya know.
 
Not really about the railroad crossing, but I really, really, really hate riding on a school bus. We have to at least once a year for field trips. The slightest bump and there are 50 kids bouncing all over the place or falling into the aisle with a sharp turn. I'm always on the aisle and I have to hold on to the seat across from me in order to feel secure. I just don't think they're very safe. And -- have you ever been on a bus full of kids going to a field trip? OMG - KMN.
 
Not really about the railroad crossing, but I really, really, really hate riding on a school bus. We have to at least once a year for field trips. The slightest bump and there are 50 kids bouncing all over the place or falling into the aisle with a sharp turn. I'm always on the aisle and I have to hold on to the seat across from me in order to feel secure. I just don't think they're very safe. And -- have you ever been on a bus full of kids going to a field trip? OMG - KMN.

The link in #72 explains how school buses seem to be dramatically safer than being driven or walking.

I thought it was surprising, too, especially in the absence of seatbelts, but, well, it is what it is.
 
Kids can undo their own seatbelts, ya know.

it's common for seatbelts to jam in an accident and be unable to be unbuckled. there's a reason most of us professional drivers keep those things that look like giant letter openers in reaching distance of the seat, to cut seat belts, I also have a seatbelt cutter on my key chain. my one automobile accident I had to free myself from the belt with a pocket knife. you can't always count on the seatbelt opening freely after an accident.
 
The link in #72 explains how school buses seem to be dramatically safer than being driven or walking.

I thought it was surprising, too, especially in the absence of seatbelts, but, well, it is what it is.

Not perfect, side impact with huge masses are a problem, on average 28 people die a year, 42% from side impact, but the average school day has 44 million trips.

SCHOOL BUS FATALITIES AND INJURIES

I know we have bigger problems to deal with, this one we can let go.
 
Should school buses be required to stop at all railroad crossings?

Many, if not all, states have laws that require school buses to stop at all railroad crossing. For example, in my state, it doesn't matter if the gates are down or up, the lights are on or off, or even if the bus has kids in it or is empty (except the driver, of course).

Is this a reasonable requirement?

If kids are so precious, why don't we require that cars with kids in them stop at all crossings? If it's the number of kids, we could require that SUVs with 3 or more kids stop, and everyone else go. And why make an empty bus with no kids stop?

If kids are so precious, why do we require ever increasing restraints such as car seats and/or seat belts up to the almost teen years (in some states), but not require at least seat belts on school buses (again, in some states)?

Where I live in texas they do that, and have it written on all schoolbusses. Ofcourse in the past here and elsewhere in the country trains have hit school buses, so why not top and wait a minute.
 
Caused by tailgating, being in a hurry, inattentiveness ..NOT by the rule .

Not just anyone can be a bus driver .. and we need to work harder on weeding out poor drivers .. Driving well is an attitude .. a good attitude ..and a bad one .. no license ..
As to stopping .. I am not a SB driver .. they should decide .. Some crossings are very dangerous , and may not even have the barriers ... poor conservative states ...

Speaking of poor drivers here is why such train and railroad bus laws are still in effect today.

Texas school bus driver fired after narrowly missing being hit by train - CBS News
 
However, I have never personally heard of an accident where a school bus decelerated so rapidly that people were thrown out of the vehicle. the reason seatbelts were required in cars was because they save people from the type of car deaths where people are thrown from the vehicle due to rapid stopping.

I don't think I've ever heard of a seated child in a school bus being tossed. school busses normally operate on local roads and not freeways, the vast majority of school bus miles driven will be under 50 mph, and in urban and suburban areas we're talking maybe 35 is the highest speed they will reach on a route.

I didn't say it was physically impossible, it is certainly possible, but it's rare and is impossible in practical terms due to low speeds of driving and the physical inability that a vehicle that heavy can stop fast enough.

Part of why buses do not have seatbelts besides not driving or stopping fast enough, is because in order to fit so many seats, structural reinforcement is little compared to a passenger car. Some one asked that when I was in elementary school, and the teacher shown a slideshow of a bus that had seatbelts, many of the seats completely ripped out, and even with no deaths the evacuation was worse than if they had worn none.
 
It depends on the crossing. If it has a auto gate then I could see an exception, however if it is an uncontrolled intersection then the busses should stop and check for train traffic before continuing on.

Even if the gate is up that does not mean you will definitely have room to get the entire vehicle across. You are basically guessing that roadway traffic ahead of you will make that possible. Once stopped then you can be sure that, with no vehicles immediately ahead of you, you have the room to proceed and completely clear the tracks.
 
Even if the gate is up that does not mean you will definitely have room to get the entire vehicle across. You are basically guessing that roadway traffic ahead of you will make that possible. Once stopped then you can be sure that, with no vehicles immediately ahead of you, you have the room to proceed and completely clear the tracks.

"We make the laws assuming that the citizens are idiots" does not tend to endear the government to the people.
 
"We make the laws assuming that the citizens are idiots" does not tend to endear the government to the people.

We make laws assuming that the government may occasionally hire/license such idiots. ;)

If you are exactly of median intelligence then half of the drivers that you share the roadways with are likely to be dumber than you are.
 
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It is safe to assume that over time people will tend to either rise or fall as needed to meet expectations.

OOOPS!

There's been a fair amount more falling then rising, especially when it comes to railroad tracks.
 
We make laws assuming that the government may occasionally hire/license such idiots. ;)

If you are exactly of median intelligence then half of the drivers that you share the roadways with are likely to be dumber than you are.
You mean I'm the smartest person on the road?!? ;) :cool:
 
There's been a fair amount more falling then rising, especially when it comes to railroad tracks.

I think RR Track safety, like sexual assault, is better than it has ever been, only my peers are too stupid to understand the reality, they are too much in love with there fantasies.
 
I think RR Track safety, like sexual assault, is better than it has ever been, only my peers are too stupid to understand the reality, they are too much in love with there fantasies.

In drivers Ed we watched this creepy ass road safety video and I still won't go anywhere near the train tracks.
 
Should school buses be required to stop at all railroad crossings?

Many, if not all, states have laws that require school buses to stop at all railroad crossing. For example, in my state, it doesn't matter if the gates are down or up, the lights are on or off, or even if the bus has kids in it or is empty (except the driver, of course).

Is this a reasonable requirement?

If kids are so precious, why don't we require that cars with kids in them stop at all crossings? If it's the number of kids, we could require that SUVs with 3 or more kids stop, and everyone else go. And why make an empty bus with no kids stop?

If kids are so precious, why do we require ever increasing restraints such as car seats and/or seat belts up to the almost teen years (in some states), but not require at least seat belts on school buses (again, in some states)?

Listen. Rules are made when people in charge don't trust the judgement of the people they're in charge of. Like municipal governments, in this case, and their employees. Has nothing to do with laws or how precious kids are, it has to do with rules the local government puts in place because,likely, their insurance bill is becoming unwieldy.
 
Listen. Rules are made when people in charge don't trust the judgement of the people they're in charge of. Like municipal governments, in this case, and their employees. Has nothing to do with laws or how precious kids are, it has to do with rules the local government puts in place because,likely, their insurance bill is becoming unwieldy.

You start out wrong, then go right. Insurance costs do often drive this sort of idiocy. Insurance cost however done drive law for the most part.
 
In drivers Ed we watched this creepy ass road safety video and I still won't go anywhere near the train tracks.

Of course likewise some people also fall for the avert manipulation of "Drug Abuse Resistance Education", otherwise known as DARE. Two of my kids bought into it for a short time. I thought it was thoroughly cheesy.
 
Of course likewise some people also fall for the avert manipulation of "Drug Abuse Resistance Education", otherwise known as DARE. Two of my kids bought into it for a short time. I thought it was thoroughly cheesy.

To be fair, fifth graders shouldn't be doing drugs or drinking, period.
 
To be fair, fifth graders shouldn't be doing drugs or drinking, period.

THe point is overt manipulation using the fear up technique.

My wife was a very good interrogator for the USA.

Retired, but still is.
 
THe point is overt manipulation using the fear up technique.

My wife was a very good interrogator for the USA.

Retired, but still is.

Yeah, adults do that all the time. So?

There's usually a reason for why they do it.
 
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