6 yr old boy hit by car boarding school bus

[Lumber_Jack]

A 6 year old boy and his grandmother were hit by a car in Unicoi County by a 57 year old woman who failed to stop. The bus had all it's lights on and the stop sign out. The boy began crossing the lane and the grandmother saw the car coming and jumped out to try and save the boy. Both the boy and grandmother were taken to JCMC for treatment. The boy apparently has some serious injuries including a fractured scull. The offendig would should loose her license for life. That is after she does a stint in the iron bar hotel. http://www.wjhl.com/story/24901729/breaking-news-two-pedestrians-hit-by-car

[RobertNashville]

One of the things I've noticed with drivers after moving to Tennessee was what seems to be an utter disregard for stop signs and red lights and even loading/unloading school buses. It could be, perhaps, that the fact that I noticed this after moving to Tennessee was just a coincidence and that this is a general trend across the country but whether this is a problem just for Tennessee or just for the southern states or the entire country it is a problem and I think needs to be addressed.

I would really like to see some strong enforcement and some strong enemies for those who run red lights or run stop signs and other similar traffic rules. I suspect, however, that cities will just continue to put up "red light cameras that generate revenue but do very little to address the problem.

I hope this boy and his grandmother recover and that hang this driver out to dry. Edited March 8, 2014 by RobertNashville

[teecro]

There should be extremely stiff punishment for failing to stop and/or yield  for a school bus or fire trucks etc.... After all what else can be done to make safer they paint them bright colors and have bright flashing lights?

[Lumber_Jack]

[quote name="teecro" post="1121845" timestamp="1394289657"]There should be extremely stiff punishment for failing to stop and/or yield for a school bus or fire trucks etc.... After all what else can be done to make safer they paint them bright colors and have bright flashing lights?[/quote] I agree. I wish there was a solution here in seriousness. I've thought well, the drive should get off and stop traffic, but then he'd have been hit too. I will say this if I ever have to wall my kids to the bus. They will not cross until all traffic is firmly stopped. Not blaming the grandmother it wasn't her fault, but after seeing this I can't assume that risk

[Tuffus]

When my niece was in 2nd grade she was waving goodbye to her best friend that just got off the bus when a drunk driver ran her over and killed her. Most of the kids on the bus saw the whole thing. She said she didn't see the large yellow bus with the flashing lights and stop sign. The next day the school had an event of which the girl that was killed was to have had a major part. Lots of tears and grief at the event.

Edited March 8, 2014 by Tuffus

[RobertNashville]

There should be extremely stiff punishment for failing to stop and/or yield  for a school bus or fire trucks etc.... After all what else can be done to make safer they paint them bright colors and have bright flashing lights?

Back in the day I drove an ambulance for the FD in Kitsap County Washington...yeah...they were painted an almost florescent green and had flashing lights and sirens all over the place but I had to assume the people didn't see me (and was generally correct).  I guess it was probably during that time of my life when I began to realize just how stupid and unfocused most people are. ;)

[bersaguy]

I was a volunteer fireman for about 7 years and during that time I learned just how stupid people can be about moving over or yielding to emergency vehicles which meant most people were brain dead to there presence and almost ignored them. I did have a few fender benders along the way as I did hit a few cars that did not yield to me at intersections and in every case they got the ticket for fail to yield to an emergency vehicle. I hope the Grand mother and little girl have a full recovery. As for the driver of the car. I think jail time and loss of drivers license for life would be a fitting punishment. If she cannot see a big yellow bus with all kinds of flashing warning lights on it and stop sign out she is to dense to have a license. That is one thing I can say about this area I live in. They make sure there are crossing guards at all school cross walks and when school is letting out you will find a squad car at almost every if not every school zone and if your speeding or fail to yield to the crossing guards signals you can expect a big fat ticket or maybe two. They don't mess around here when it comes to school zones and school children. I can remember when it was like that in every school zone but a lo of budgets don't allow that kind of protection for our children any longer is all I hear from some school districts.............jmho

[Sam1]

There should be extremely stiff punishment for failing to stop and/or yield  for a school bus or fire trucks etc.... After all what else can be done to make safer they paint them bright colors and have bright flashing lights?

 

Do what we did in Bosnia on military convoys; mount machine gun turrets on them and do not waste bullets on warning shots.

 

After the first few patrols, nothing was ever fired again... I would expect similar results in this application

[bersaguy]

Do what we did in Bosnia on military convoys; mount machine gun turrets on them and do not waste bullets on warning shots.

 

After the first few patrols, nothing was ever fired again... I would expect similar results in this application

That would never work here. Remember School buses like schools are GUN FREE ZONES but I like the idea................. :up: ........jmho

[Caster]

I for one will be glad when we start mandatory retesting.  there are LOTS of people who have no business on the road.  Many teenagers yes but JUST as many people over the age of 50, if not more.  I've always found the idea absurd that you can just pay the fee and get your license renewed at 70 years old when it's been over 50 years since your test.  Things like eye sight and reaction time change MUCH over the years.

[TMF]

[quote name="Caster" post="1121958" timestamp="1394307366"]I for one will be glad when we start mandatory retesting. there are LOTS of people who have no business on the road. Many teenagers yes but JUST as many people over the age of 50, if not more. I've always found the idea absurd that you can just pay the fee and get your license renewed at 70 years old when it's been over 50 years since your test. Things like eye sight and reaction time change MUCH over the years.[/quote] 57 isn't that old. I don't think age was a factor here. I think it was just an impatient POS that needs to be ground up into fertilizer. Since moving to Tennessee I've seen this several times where people will pass a school bus that is stopped or fixing to stop. Those people should lose their license immediately, just the same as a drunk driver. I recall my dad retelling a story where he had ticketed some woman who passed a school bus while it was stopped. She was a rich ahole type who was too important for schoolchildren, and decided to fight it in court. The judge found her guilty and explained that the maximum fine for such was $500, which he said he wouldn't impose on her. She had a moment of relief to hear that she wouldn't be slammed with a full fine, and that's when the judge fined her $499. People who a reckless around school buses and pass them while picking up/dropping off kids should automatically lose their license. People who injure or kill school children while passing a bus that is stopped should spend life in jail. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Guest TankerHC]

I for one will be glad when we start mandatory retesting. there are LOTS of people who have no business on the road. Many teenagers yes but JUST as many people over the age of 50, if not more. I've always found the idea absurd that you can just pay the fee and get your license renewed at 70 years old when it's been over 50 years since your test. Things like eye sight and reaction time change MUCH over the years.

In states i have been in you do not even have to show up. You could be 90 years old, flat on your back and unable to do anything but type some keys and go online and renew. But I also know plenty of people in their 80s and even 90s fully capable of driving.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

[teecro]

I for one will be glad when we start mandatory retesting.  there are LOTS of people who have no business on the road.  Many teenagers yes but JUST as many people over the age of 50, if not more.  I've always found the idea absurd that you can just pay the fee and get your license renewed at 70 years old when it's been over 50 years since your test.  Things like eye sight and reaction time change MUCH over the years.

 

Strong words spoken from someone who is well under the age of 50 I see; would you be the first one bitching about being forced to take a re-test when you need to renew your lic say at age 51 years young? Oh and they do make ya retest your vision every so often or at least they do here in MI as I had to do this on my renew last year.

Edited March 8, 2014 by teecro

[Caster]

Strong words spoken from someone who is well under the age of 50 I see; would you be the first one bitching about being forced to take a re-test when you need to renew your lic say at age 51 years young? Oh and they do make ya retestyour vision every so often or at least they do here in MI as I had to do this on my renew last year.

I'll do it right now. Be glad to if it would get the blind blue hairs off the road.
Be nice to get a few of the road ragers off too.
If the day comes that my driving endangers others, then I'll be glad to stop driving.
The inconvenience of having to retest every ten or fifteen years would be well worth it IMO.

Also, why would you assume I would be the first to bitch about an idea I propose myself? I'm an azzhole, not a hypocrite. Edited March 8, 2014 by Caster

[teecro]

Also, why would you assume I would be the first to bitch about an idea I propose myself? I'm an azzhole, not a hypocrite.

 

 

I didn't assume anything.... Did you notice that I asked if you would bitch?

[RobertNashville]

Age is hardly the primary reason for poor driving; in fact it rarely is...stupidity, selfishness, and a lack of real driver training are.

 

Last April I had a less than one year old Nissan 370 Z totaled in a wreck when a stupid woman (quite a bit younger than I am) decided to turn left in from of me...I guess there was some big sale at the Co-Op she just had to get to. This was at noon on a bright, sunny day (I was going to lunch) and  I was under the speed limit (lucky for her) and I always drive with my headlights on yet she was totally oblivious. It also totaled here much larger car and put her in the hospital for almost three weeks (I walked away with a torn knee in my pants and a couple of scratches). According to the police she said she never saw me...probably didn't because she was probably concentrating on a dozen things other than her driving.

 

Most people have no clue how to actually handle a vehicle and NO driving requirements in any state actually requires that you do...it's a wonder we don't have more people killed in vehicle accidents than we do.

 

If you really want to bring age into the equation then consider why insurance companies charge higher premiums for drivers under 50?  It's because of claim experience. Also, U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) statistics show that young motorists are more likely to be involved in traffic accidents causing death.  Older drivers do need to be aware of decreasing vision, hearing, etc. but in terms of overall driving ability older adults tend to be more safe, not less.

Edited March 8, 2014 by RobertNashville

[RC3]

Age is hardly the primary reason for poor driving; in fact it rarely is...stupidity, selfishness, and a lack of real driver training are.

 

Last April I had a less than one year old Nissan 370 Z totaled in a wreck when a stupid woman (quite a bit younger than I am) decided to turn left in from of me...I guess there was some big sale at the Co-Op she just had to get to. This was at noon on a bright, sunny day (I was going to lunch) and  I was under the speed limit (lucky for her) and I always drive with my headlights on yet she was totally oblivious. It also totaled here much larger car and put her in the hospital for almost three weeks (I walked away with a torn knee in my pants and a couple of scratches). According to the police she said she never saw me...probably didn't because she was probably concentrating on a dozen things other than her driving.

 

Not too long ago, I picked my brother up from soccer practice after work. Folks were busy. As soon as I passed independence high school, some "teen" decided to floor it when leaving the school. Barely avoided getting a X3 lodged in my passenger side injuring my brother. In the antioch area, drivers are beyond terrible. Its a very sad sight when you have to avoid people who thing the own the road and its a damn good time to be on their cell phones.

[RC3]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48lxqgdo8iw

 

This article reminded me of this video. Its people like this that need to have their license revoked. What she is a 100% reckless.