Scared of school buses

I learned at dinner that Colter was on a school bus yesterday for his field trip to a local hospital. This particular one had seat belts -- which is a mixed blessing -- but that did little to ease my anxiety.

When we lived in North Carolina, I swore that my son would never ride one of those yellow monsters because it seemed they were involved in so many accidents, many of them severe. We've always driven him to school, and most of his field trips are taken in cars, with parents driving. Here in Florida, there are fewer accidents involving school buses, but I'm not sure I can dial down my fear.

I worry about potential peer abuse -- Colter's ADHD makes him more likely to be the aggressor than the victim or otherwise have difficulty managing himself in an unstructured setting like this -- and I'm paranoid about the safety of these massive machines.

Is it just me or are other parents afraid to put their kids on buses?

p.s. I posted this morning to DotMoms: "Dr. Seuss may mean more to parents than to kids"

Comments

[fran]

I'd like to say something in favor of school buses. On the tv news tonight, they showed a boy who began chocking on something he was eating on the bus, and another boy got up and gave him the Heimlich Maneuver and saved his life. In this case, the boy was very lucky he was on the bus!

[Melissa]

It never, ever occured to me to worry about that.

Great! More things to worry about!

[BusyMe]

*sigh* I wish I didn't have to put my kids on the bus. My DD16 was in a bus wreck at the beginning of Bball season (she's on the varsity squad) and it was AWFUL! There wasn't one girl on either varsity or JV that wasn't hurt. The bus crashed on the way to a game, at night, because the bus driver was speeding around a turn, on a back road. She was traumatized.

[barbara]

i did this google search as i began reading your post:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=is+my+child+safer+in+my+car+or+in+a+school+bus+in+the+united+states%3F&btnG=Google+Search

a quote from one of the resulting links [http://www.cnusd.k12.ca.us/business-div/Transportation%20FAQs.html]:
Your child is 172 times safer in a school bus than in your own car.

hope it eases your mind somewhat. :)

[Valarie Marie]

Like you, I'm afraid of school buses. I drive my daughter to school every day but during the summer her summer camp use those yellow monsters for field trips. I'm one raw nerve by the time I pick my daughter up at the end of the day. While driving around town during the days I have witnessed some very bad driving in the hands of those school bus drivers. I've seen them pull out in front of cars in heavy traffic. I have even reported some of these drivers. No, you are not alone.

[TW]

I rode the bus to school until I was old enough to have friends who drove. Rode them on sports and band trips too. The urchins go to private school so I take them and pick them up; the school does have a bus they use for some field trips, but mostly it's the school vans or parents' vehicles. I never really worried about it, even after seeing accidents on TV.

[Helene]

Buses - Yup! The same concern here. I never rode them as a child (I was close enough to walk) and with our school choice for the girls (private) a school bus in not an option. In someways, not having the school bus option is a blessing! I don't have to worry about it.

[LittleMiss]

p.s. - I meant that I'd worry about her behavior and other kids' behavior...more than the safety of the bus...but that too!
LMISS

[LittleMiss]

Dear Lord...I'd NEVER! put Arianna (ADHD/ODD) on a school bus! She goes to private school...so I have to drive her there and back...gets old, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

LittleMiss

[Isabella]

I have had issues with busses in the past, but safety hasn't bothered me too much. My most recent complaint was that they expected to fit 3 kids to a seat, but I have high school aged boys, and believe me, only 2 fit in one of those seats. For a while my sons sat on the floor of the bus, until I complained enough and got them on another bus. Now they get up a half hour earlier, but they can ride the bus when they need to. (Usually that's when it's icy, as the oldest one drives now.)

So, pick your terror: school bus or teenage driver!!! We moms always have something to worry about!

[Nancy]

I refused to send my son on the bus when he was in Kindergarten, but when he went to 1st grade we compromised. I would take him to school in the morning and he would take the bus home. Now that he is in 3rd grade I am much better about the it, so he takes the bus both ways in the winter. School trips have always been an issue however so my husband or I always try to go with the class if possible.

[Emily]

I don't let mine ride the bus and never have for these same reasons.If they have a field trip either Randy or myself drives them.

[Candi]

It use to bother me, but not any more. There is just no way I can get all three kids up and ready to leave the house every day, especially in the winter when you need coats, hats, etc.

It gets easier and getting to know the bus driver and the other kids/parents on the bus helps tremendously.

[Nancy]

My daughter has been riding the bus to school every day for the past 6 years. We get to know the bus driver by talking with her daily, and talking "about" her to other parents. Luckily we have had the same driver for the past 4 years and she's great. However, on icy mornings, when school is not cancelled ~ we drive her in. ;~)

[Rebecca]

Buses do scare me for all the reasons you mentioned, but we really don't have any other choice. We live too far away from the school for my daughter to walk, I don't drive, and most days my husband goes to work before school starts and gets out a little after school ends. So I just have to push aside my fears and walk her to that bus stop everyday...