School Bus/Dump Truck Collision-I-80 Near Mount Olive,New Jersey

Dementia and alzheimers are real things, and they don't set in fully over night. These diseases hit lots of people, seemingly at increasing rates, and they begin to set in at all different ages.

What I'm trying to say, some 90 year olds have more mental acuity then many 70 year olds. But there is an age point where society has to start to monitor the aged more closely. Only problem is, it's hard to establish where that point should be given there's no rhyme or reason to what age people start to seriously decline from a mental acuity standpoint. And no doubt there would always be an ongoing to push to raise or lower the "testing standards" or baseline

 

c'mon up to New England, God's country, and bring your own beer.

i'll supply the anti-grouch pills.....

you ain't talkin to a youngin here either...ya old fart....

 

This Is the Difference Between Dementia and Alzheimer’s

 

You are giving the average person way too much credit. Thinking that an increased cost to the school will mean increased taxes next year is far beyond most....

 

Our Local News has a pretty decent artcile regarding the school bus driver now facing charges of vehicular homicide.

School bus driver charged with causing deaths of child, teacher in NJ crash

 

The jury has spoken. Bus driver sentenced to 10 years in prison. He won’t serve near that amount of time though.

‘My Heart Is Destroyed’: Driver in Deadly NJ School Bus Crash Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison

 

I drive a school bus every morning. An accident involving kids is my worst nightmare. Closest call was some <expletives deleted> who passed me on the RIGHT as I was loading kids. I got his plate, but with no dashcam all he got was a letter from the attorney generals office.

A couple of other things - the seatbelt argument. One of the big dangers of belts is you've just given kids a piece of metal at the end of a strap - nice weapon. Also a problem when dealing with special needs kids who can be prone to violence, acting out etc. And then the delinquents bus - definitely don't want those kids anywhere near anything that can be used as a weapon. Preschoolers are belted in with 5 point harnesses however.

A huge shortage of bus drivers. We were short 30 people at the start of this year. Probably because a contracted fleet pays under $20 per hour, vs a nearby district that direct hires at $26-28 per hour. Still its not a bad side job, ironically it pays for my kids private school tuition.

I find driving a rig easier than the bus. Probably a mix of the bus goes down tiny residential roads and the value of the cargo - with the bus these parents are trusting you with the single most important thing in their lives.

 

Yeah bus driving is a huge NOPE for me. I think the shortage is gonna get worse too.

1.) less than $20/hr? Hah!
2.) split schedule makes it difficult to work a 2nd job. 4 hours in the morning (or less) 4-6 break, then another 3-4 hours.
3.) a trailer load of water bottles doesn't throw spitballs, write graffiti or get sick.

But the number one reason why I will NOT drive a bus in this day and age is that when it comes to small children an accusation can be more damning than an actual crime. If one parent thinks I looked at her kid funny, I could get hauled into court, have my life turned upside down, and possibly jailed!

Even DOT isn't that bad! (Yet?)

This is why most bus drivers I see are actually women. For some reason people think women are less likely to be sexual predators than men by default.

No thank you, they can have it.

 

I just do it as a part time gig in the am to defray the costs of sending my kids to private school (and listening to the students talk its a constant reminder of why I pay extra to keep them out of the public indoctrination centers)

There are cameras on the students but not the driver (had a fight last year that was bad enough the state atty generals office got involved) and most runs have aides, including all pre school and special needs, in part to protect both driver and company. I agree I wouldn't want to run alone for that reason.