Safe at the Curb: What Families Can Do Before the Bus Arrives
Every school day, bus drivers watch cars ignore the stop arm — not occasionally, but weekly, if not daily. It’s a frightening reality, and the reason children must be in the safest place possible before the bus arrives.
The rule is simple:
Walking in front of the bus is INHERENTLY DANGEROUS. Children should wait on the same side of the street as the bus door — before the bus gets there, ready to board.
This isn’t just a matter of convenience — it’s about safety. Crossing the street in front of a bus is inherently dangerous. Running across the street as the bus pulls up, or chasing after it, puts children directly in harm’s way.
Some parents say their children are too young to cross the street alone — yet those same children are left unsupervised on the far side, expected to wait for the bus driver to manage their crossing. If a child isn’t old enough to cross safely on their own, then a parent must cross them and supervise. Children are their parents’ responsibility until they step onto the bus, and again the moment they step off.
Think of it this way: families who live close to school don’t get bus service — parents are expected to get their children there safely, whether by walking or driving. Getting to the bus stop works the same way. The bus provides safe transportation once students are on board, but drivers can’t control traffic. They also can’t watch every corner of the bus for children running to catch up. That’s why children must be ready and in place before the bus arrives. Think of it like public transportation which has very few accidents since riders are responsible to get to the door safely and on time.
“But traffic is supposed to stop when the bus raises its stop sign!” Yes — 100%! But they don’t.
“Why can’t drivers just wait a few minutes for the bus to finish?” Because delays feed impatience. Drivers get frustrated when stops drag on — especially for unnecessary reasons like students walking slowly across the street, parents chatting with the driver, handing off forgotten items, or getting on bus with their child for one more hug.
And finally, children should be ready at the curb — not on the porch, not in a nearby car. Bus drivers need one place to look for students. If it’s empty, they should move on. Waiting for a child to appear at the last second — or to finish tying their shoes and grabbing a jacket — isn’t fair to the hundreds of other students and drivers on the road. Being visible and prepared keeps everyone safer and the routes running smoothly.
Here’s the math: when children are waiting on the correct side, a stop takes about 30 seconds. If students have to cross or aren’t ready, it can take three times longer. Multiply that across 20+ stops, and a route runs 15–20 minutes late. Since most drivers cover 3–4 routes between 6:30 and 9:30 am, an 8:45 pickup can easily slip to 9:15. Prepared students keep buses on schedule, make arrival times predictable, and reduce frustration for other drivers stuck behind.
Bus drivers care deeply about the children they transport. We see the risks every day. With these simple steps, families and drivers together can prevent tragedy and keep students safe.
I actually had this happen in middle of the day while driving. The bus had the stop arm out and was chatting with the parent for close to TEN or FIFTEEN minutes on Countyline after having dropped off the child and was just HOLDING UP TRAFFIC because of their conversation!!!
It was so upsetting and frustrating!! A few cars just went ahead and continued driving past the stop arm because the driver of the bus needed to have a conversation! I absolutely DO NOT blame them because who gives the bus driver the right to stop people for TEN or FIFTEEN minutes like that??? There were no children crossing, there was no one getting off the bus, you actually saw the bus driver walking around the bus, probably looking for something the kid lost on the bus. That still doesn’t give the driver the right to stop people in middle of a busy day like that and keep them from getting to where they need to go.
There should be rules about this also. If a kid lost something on the bus, it’s shouldn’t be the driver’s responsibility to look for it when dropping the kid off. Every driver should check their bus for missing items at the end of the day, and there should be a lost and found somewhere that parents can go look to see if the item they’re missing is there.
That is, ASSUMING that was why the driver was holding up traffic for fifteen minutes, and not for some other dumb reason!!
Yes! Yes! Yes!
And busses should be able to legally angle the bus towards the stop (EVEN when picking up the child on the correct side of the street).
I wait with my children at the bus stop, on time, in the rain (heat or cold) without running for the bus & yet countless people jump the stop sign and I have to pull my children back!!
its iliegle
It’s illegal to spell incorrectly.
And if you learn to read you can reread my post and note how I wrote “and busses SHOULD BE legally allowed to angle the bus…”
I tried finding out why it’s illegal but I don’t receive responses.
It’s illegal to spell incorrectly.
And when you learn to read you can reread my post saying that it should become legal for busses to angle themselves to keep children safe.
One very important thing, kids should make eye contact with the bus driver before running to make sure it’s safe, sometimes a bus gets to a stop and he sees a car flying so he waits to open the door, meanwhile the kid thinks the bus stoped so he runs towards the bus…
Bus angle will solve alot of the problems, also all the buses in Boro park have a second door on the left side, it saves alot of time, alot of headache and it’s much more safe.