The Bus Driver
15 Years Experience
South, ..
Female, 37
I have been a bus driver since late 2006. I know the inside story, the scoop, the down low dirt of what it takes to be a bus driver, how to handle kids and adults, and how to survive on the "streets" so to speak. I used to have a blog, feel free to browse it or ask me a question here.
A school buses camera is usually only active when the bus is switched in the "on" position. The only exception to this is when a bus is switched off after a period of time. Our camera systems are designed to run for about 10-15 minutes after the bus is officially "off." This is so that it can be shown that we do our walk throughs to check the bus for any sleeping child and also prevents a bus driver from turning off the bus just to yell or swear at children off camera. If they have to wait 15 minutes the boss man knows something is up. As for any other security cameras that may be around the bus depots, I'm not sure, but some depots do have security cameras on the building and in the parking lot to ensure protection.
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First, you need to establish who was pushing your son and nephew. If it was the bus driver, ask the school and bus shop to pull the video tape. Most buses have video recording systems now in order to prevent situations like this. If it is shown on the tape then you have the right to request disciplinary action. If the action done is not suitable or the problem re-occurs, then you have the right to take it to the superintendents office. However keep in mind that you're only hearing one side to the story. The tape tells the whole story and will either clear the driver or make it clear the driver is in trouble.
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It depends on the type of system, but most sound systems on a bus pick up surrounding noise, but the best noise happens about 4-6 feet surrounding the microphone.
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Legally speaking, probably not. However did the child do something that would warrant a need to clean up the bus? If so, such consequences should be discussed with the parent before hand unless the school opts to handle it that way. For example, a kid who has a chronic problem of not throwing away his trash may be asked to clean the bus in lieu of a harsher punishment like In School Suspension or Detention. My bus kids always like to help pick up the bus and I do have a couple of them who like to sweep up.
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Call it in to the authorities, or to the local bus shop/school district labeled on the outside of the school bus. Sometimes drivers do get distracted and make poor decisions. They still need to be notified so that they can adjust their driving style. There have been a few times where I have not made the best decision and pulled out inadvertently in front of someone on a blind corner, but we are human and all make mistakes. I would rather someone come to me and tell me that I need to watch how I drive than to endanger children anymore than necessary.
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Far as I can tell the notifications are left up to individual bus companies. I would assume it is based on severity of accident. If the bus was involved in a minor fender bender where no children are hurt, it is likely they will be either transferred to another bus and then delivered home or to school, or the bus is undamaged so it is able to deliver a student to and from school. You should review your individual school system policies to see what their protocol is on notifying parents of bus accidents.
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If the driver backed into the arbor, knocked it down, and broke something then it should be up to the bus company to pay for a reasonable replacement of items broken or damaged. Accidents happen, and things should be fixed. I once backed into a yard and over a low fence (fence was largely decorative and only outlined parts of the driveway). I didn't think I had damaged anything but my boss got a call from the homeowners. Though I took responsibility, my boss just went and got the items needed to simply repair the damage (a post and one small piece of fence) It took all of 10 minutes to make the repair as it was a simple accident and not malicious in any way.
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