Playing In Traffic

Is there no end to middle school stupidity?!

This morning as I was finishing a route and pulled out onto a major highway (4 lanes across with a turn lane in the middle dividing the 4 lanes)I had the unfortunate pleasure of watching THREE middle school boys play chicken with rush hour traffic.

Actually to be more precise, two of the boys were egging on the third who played a game of "tag" with the white lines on the pavement. First the boy wandered into a single lane, then he tried his luck and raced ACROSS the FOUR LANE road to "tag" the white line on the other side. I know we cannot control the people who walk along the side of the road, but my heart froze when I realized the kid was being stupid.

Most of the time, mornings will find very few kids walking to school, but in the afternoons, there is a FLOOD of middle school kids who like to walk home from the school instead of riding the bus. Unfortunately, this middle school is located along a major highway and there is really no safe place to cross. I've watched kids dart out in front of buses, I've had them dart out in front of me causing me to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting them.

One of my biggest fears as a bus driver is seeing a child get struck by a vehicle, bus or car. Either way it would be a huge tragedy.

This also brings me to another point. With school being back in session and buses traveling the roads more frequently, if you drive, please be on the lookout for kids at bus stops as well as the school bus itself. I know a big yellow box is pretty hard to miss, but we've had people to run right into our rear ends while we're stopped either letting children off the bus, or picking them up from their stops. So please use caution and be more alert while driving especially during the course of a school year.

Astounded,

The Bus Driver

Busy Busy Busy!!!

I haven't had much of an opportunity to blog, so don't think I've forgotten. I put in 57 hours of work last week alone and have got several more hours this week. Lately my new job has been going very well. I've certainly met many characters who are very very interesting.

Just yesterday I drove a man who is a former senator and who has met Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He also gave me a history lesson on physical therapy in America and spoke to me about never giving up. I meet people from all walks of life and all have been an inspiration to me. They talk, I just listen.

Presently, I'm toying with the idea of writing a book based on my experiences as a bus driver.

On a side note, I am also toying with keeping track of the miles that I travel in the period of one year just as a fun experiment.