In my years on the SBF team, I’ve learned that with the pupil transportation industry, you should expect the unexpected. Many interesting and unusual things can happen while bus drivers are out on the road and the rest of an operation’s staff is assisting in the transport of students to and from school, as you well know.  

In an engaging article in our October 2010 issue, Randy Mazie, director of the John Schee Transportation Center at Miami-Dade County Public Schools, recounts challenges he has faced during his nearly 25 years in the industry. He also discusses some bizarre incidents, writing:

"Never lacking in excitement, one of our centers was located next to an active air field.

"I returned from lunch one afternoon to find a small plane crashed at the entrance to our bus yard, effectively shutting it down.  ...

"We’ve even had a spider outbreak — a brown recluse uprising in a few of our buses. Invitations went out … to experts to help us understand and combat these venom-injecting arachnids."

While I've come to expect the unexpected, I was surprised to read this! I was also surprised upon recently hearing and reading about the specifics of illegal bus passing problems at a couple of school districts. We report in our forthcoming November issue about Dallas County Schools’ efforts to pass an ordinance for school bus crossing zones and to permit the installation of a camera system on each of the district’s 1,650 buses to help catch motorists who illegally pass school buses.  

To illustrate the need for the ordinance, the district ran a pilot program for 30 days. Video cameras were installed inside and on the outside of six of the district’s buses. The district’s school board president said that every bus had at least one violator and sometimes as many as 10.

Moreover, I read a story from the Quincy Herald-Whig about an illegal passing incident near a Quincy (Ill.) Public School District #172 elementary school. School bus driver Susan Maggart was preparing to pick up a student on Sept. 24. She activated the bus’ flashing red lights and the stop arm, but six motorists ignored them and drove past the bus. Fortunately, no students were injured in the incident. 

Maggart told the Quincy Herald-Whig that she was “shocked” by the number of vehicles that passed her bus. “Occasionally you'll have one” vehicle run past a stopped school bus. “But not six of them in a row. That is very uncommon,” she added.  

What surprised me about the news from these two school districts is not that motorists illegally passed school buses (I’m well aware that this is a chronic problem for the industry). Like Maggart, it’s the number of motorists who passed the buses in such a short time span that surprised me.

I’m curious what your experiences at your operation have been — have multiple motorists simultaneously passed your stopped school buses? Moreover, has your operation implemented any practices that have helped to curb incidence of illegal bus passing?

I’m also interested to read about exciting or extraordinary experiences you’ve had on the job. Post a comment below or send an e-mail to info@schoolbusfleet.com. 

Safe travels,

Kelly Roher
Senior Editor