Bus driver found guilty of endangerment

Posted by Janice on January 22, 2009

Today when I went to the bus yard there was a paper tacked to the bulletin board that was written about a bus driver in Illinois who braked her bus too hard in an attempt to get the kids on the bus to settle down because the kids were being too rowdy.  A few of the kids got hurt, and she was tried and convicted of reckless conduct and child endangerment.  She hasn’t been sentenced yet, but could get up to a whole year in jail!

I have found that there are some children that will not sit down and be quiet.  They scream and run up and down the aisles no matter how many times you ask them to sit down and be quiet.  I explain to them that I need them to sit down for their own safety.  I explain that sometimes I might have to brake hard and suddenly to avoid a deer or a pet dog running in the road, or to avoid hitting another vehicle that is cutting me off.

There have been a few times when I HAVE had to brake hard to avoid hitting a car that was driving recklessly.  The kids were sitting down at the time, and one lurched out of her seat (she was sitting in front) and banged her head on the trash can in the front of the bus.  I was so upset that happened!  She said she was fine, and I apologized many many many times.  Now I tell other kids that won’t sit down about that incident, and sometimes they take it to heart and sit down, but sometimes they think I’m not being truthful and ignore my pleas to sit down.  It can get very frustrating, so now when I have a hard time with the kids I pull off to the side of the road and stop the bus and tell them we can’t go again until they settle down. 

Sometimes that works, sometimes not.  Driving a school bus is harder than most people realize!