24 y/o school bus driver arrested after 5 killed in rollover

I live in Chattanooga and this story is what everyone here is talking about today.

I used to own a home two streets over from where this accident happened. Talley Rd is a residential street with homes built mostly in the 1920-30s. It is very hilly and curvy with lots of old trees on both sides. The maximum safe speed for a school bus is 20-25 mph on this road (speed limit is 30) and I'd estimate that he had to be doing at least 45 to cause that much damage. Everyone in town wants this guy's head to roll.

 

I drove middle school kids, and they really weren't all THAT bad. Last week of school, however, one of the seats in the back of the bus got cut up pretty bad. I knew which group of kids generally sat in that area, but not who was sitting there that particular day.

Next day after school, I decided to seat the kids as they came out after school, filling the bus up from the front to the rear. This group always hurried out to get their seats at the back, and when they stepped onto the bus and saw what was going on, they turned to get off again to wait for seats in the rear. I told them "If you get off this bus, you aren't getting back on." So, they quietly took their seats at the front.

Kids being kids, I figured the next day they'd assume I'd be doing the same...filling the bus again front to rear...and would wait until the busses were about to roll out before making their way out of the school. So, I filled the bus starting in the rear that day. Sure enough, as the busses were getting ready to depart, they come walking up smiling and laughing...until they stepped up onto the bus and saw that the ONLY seats left were right up front with me. Their grins quickly vanished and their laughing ceased as a look of combined amazement and defeat came over their faces. They had just been outsmarted by their bus driver!

The next day was the last day of school, and instead of guessing what they'd do, I figured at the very least that group would be separated. I put one kid in each seat working front to rear...then put a second kid in each seat front to rear.

School year ended and I gave up driving buses for the 18 wheelers again.

 

Looks like they filed charges. I think we can write off that little &^%$ from ever driving a bus or CDL again.

 

It gets worse...

On Sept. 20, Walker was driving a school bus on Sylvan Drive in Chattanooga. That's when, according to the police report, he sideswiped a Kia Soul going in the opposite direction. This reportedly happened at a blind curve in the road and he allegedly failed to yield.

- http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/3377226...bus-driver-was-involved-in-wreck-2-months-ago

A DRIVER accused of ploughing a school bus into a tree in Tennessee, killing five children and injuring more than 20, allegedly said moments before crashing: “Are y’all ready to die?”

- http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/...k=67e273f9e5a276f3c4dc52c220acaadb-1479846815
​

 

If that is true.... he is a mental case and should be tied to a tree and covered in honey. See how he likes that.

 

Never said you did not know how to drive. What I said is that there is absolutely no valid excuse/reason for a school bus to end up like it did unless you hit black ice in July. This guy needs to rot forever. Give him the rest of his life to suffer from what he has done. Daily waterboarding and weekly beatings.

 

And not having seat belts on most buses protects the kids how....?

 

Back in the dark ages, I drove bus for Denver Transit. It was mostly route driving, but once in a while, I'd draw one of the contract runs they did for Denver School District. It was enough to make me know I'd never be a school bus driver!
Back then, all you needed was a Chauffeur's License. Didn't make any di if you were driving a light delivery van, to an 18 wheeler loaded with dynamite, to busses, school or public. The Chauffeur License was all that was needed.
Now I'll admit that to drive a taxi in Denver, you had to have a "herdic" license, issued by the city, in addition to the chauffeur license.

 

Compartmentalization. School buses are designed with passive safety with the seats being closer together, having higher seatbacks, padding and vehicle visability. The concern with seatbelts is emergency egress. According to Transport Canada a child is 16 times safer riding on a school bus compared to riding to school in a passenger vehicle. School bus accidents, injuries and deaths are way below passenger vehicle averages. You can Google similar information from U.S. agencies.

I am a committed seatbelt wearer (it likely saved my life at least once and for sure has kept me from injury), but I agree that the current system is a good compromise. Most often any injuries can be attributed to poor driver training/selection.

 

OK, Idon't know about modern busses, but back then there wasn't much of a frame in busses. The seats were just attached to the floor.
There was nothing SOLID to anchor to, for seats or seat belts. There was some experimentation with anchoring the seat belts to the seats themselves, but that was found to not decrease injury in a serious crash, where the seat was knocked loose from the floor.