What is with all the bus crashes in JoCo?

http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/3852795/

 

Well, if anything, the driver is a TA that possibly drives multiple routes, meaning she has to get up early, drive to get the bus, then drive her routes, then report to the classroom until time for her to driver her afternoon routes, then back to the bus place, then drive home.

Hopefully, JoCo will being to consider that TAs and bus driving are not a good mix, and that just because it's cheap in the short run, the possibility of hurting a child is too costly to not hire full time drivers. I recall that HS seniors drove buses for us.

 

HS Seniors.......that is even worse. Why put that kind of a responsibilty on a child?

 

I don't think seniors are allowed to drive here anymore.

 

<- Survivor of bus crash, driven by a 16 YO HS student.

Hatt, have you lost your mind? The current license graduation system would not even allow this.

 

OMG...I wonder whose stupid idea that was...to let HS Seniors drive the bus.

 

The great state of SC, circa 1985.

 

I remember when I was in high school they used to have high school seniors drive the buses. One of my fellow seniors that drove a bus arrived at a junior high school to pick up the kids and a teacher who was helping kids onto the bus smelled alcohol on her breath. She was pulled off the bus and the police were called. It turned out she had skipped school that day and went and got drunk, then got on her bus to drive her route. :banghead:

 

Yep, the one I'm talking about was in SC too. Though I'm not tellin' the year! Let's just say it was before 1985. :mrgreen:

 

Well - at least she showed some responsibilty...:jester:

 

When i rode the bus in HS (Garner '82), seniors drove the buses. All of em.

 

Why do they do that here? The TA's driving busses? Seniors in h.s. driving busses, was that for extra credit or punishment? Are TA's paid hourly or salary? In Massachusetts, we had actual paid bus drivers. They were paid hourly and worked a few hours in the mornings and about 4 hours in the afternoons.

 

Teacher Assistants are the teachers from K to what 3rd? grade that help the teachers, usually grown adults.. No students are now allowed to drive buses here unless this has been changed recently.

 

To save money. Plain and simple.

 

I know they don't do it anymore... but I've heard my DH mention that when he was in h.s. they used to drive the busses. I just wondered, even back then, was it extra credit, payed or punishment??

 

I think it had more to do with the Seniors that like to get out of classes early, I can't remember if they actually got paid, its been a while since they drove!

 

I can't speak for everywhere, but in my high school in SC way back when, they were paid. I don't think it was much, but it was like a small part-time job for them.

 

NC High School seniors, Not 16yr olds drove buses for pay. I don't recall a single bus accident in the years I rode a bus. Of course, this was back when kids didn't misbehave or distract the driver. If they did, they were kicked off the bus.

And the decision to force, not entice, TA's to drive is strictly a monetary one that JoCo chooses to do. If a TA won't drive a bus, they don't get hired. Rather than pay professional drivers who exclusively operate buses, the county went cheap and easy.

I agree that most, not all, but most senior HS students these days are not ready to drive a bus. I described it as it historically applied.

 

This is such BS. When I heard about it the first time I was appalled. Personally, I would not be comfortable driving a bus because I don't want to be driving that kind of vehicle with minimal training and have the lives of children in my hands. I can't believe someone would be turned down for a job because of this. :evil:

 

I think forcing TA's to drive a bus us ridiculous! It's a wonder they can keep any good TA's at all.... I thought about being a TA previously, but no way would I feel comfortable driving a bus..... Why can't they post this as a seperate position? Let someone who may have a flexible schedule earn a little extra cash.