Stop Arm vs. a Speeding Pickup
It is 7:12 a.m. on a two-lane blacktop with a 55 mph limit and almost no shoulder. Your bus, carrying 19 students, has stopped with the stop arm out and red lights flashing at a driveway on a slight right-hand curve. A 12-year-old and her 7-year-old brother wait on the left side of the road, opposite the service door; they must cross to board. As you open the door, you see in your left mirror a pickup about 220 feet behind, closing at what looks like 50 mph. It is not slowing and has not moved toward the centerline. The children are still on the driveway and have not stepped into the roadway. Your hand signal is ready, and the bus is correctly positioned in your lane with no median.
1. In the next few seconds, what do you do with the door, the warning lights, your hand signal, and the two children? Explain why.
Read the worked answer
Do not give the hand signal. Keep the children on the driveway and out of the roadway. Sound the horn-two long blasts-to warn the pickup driver and to freeze the children where they are. Keep your foot firmly on the brake and the bus stationary; do not roll forward while the service door is open and students are near the bus. If the pickup keeps closing, be ready to close the door and tell the children to stay back. The 10-foot danger zone around the bus is not a safe refuge from a vehicle moving at 50 mph. The red lights and stop arm give you legal protection, not physical protection. Your controlling principle is that no student enters the roadway until all approaching traffic has stopped or is far enough away that it cannot reach the crossing point before the students clear it.
2. The pickup does not stop and passes the bus on the left at speed. What do you do before signaling the children to cross, and what do you check?
Read the worked answer
After the pickup passes, recheck both directions and all mirrors, including the convex mirrors. Look for a second vehicle following the pickup, a vehicle that may pass from behind, and any vehicle approaching from the front. Do not signal just because the first vehicle has gone; the second vehicle is the classic hazard. Once traffic in both directions is stopped or clearly too far away to reach the crossing point, give the standard hand signal and watch the children walk at least 10 feet in front of the bus. Keep them in view the entire time. If a vehicle appears while they are crossing, sound the horn and either hold them where they are or wave them back, depending on which direction keeps them out of the vehicle’s path.
3. What should you do after the children are aboard and seated?
Read the worked answer
Count the students as they board and confirm that all 19 are accounted for, including the two who just crossed. Close the service door, secure the stop arm, cancel the red lights, and check that both children are seated before moving. Then record the time, location, direction of travel, and a description of the pickup, including the plate if you were able to get it. Report the near miss to dispatch and to the school administrator. A near miss at a stop is useful information: it may call for a route review, a different stopping position, or a request for police enforcement at that location. Do not chase or confront the pickup driver.