School speed limits. What's your point of view?

[Edbear]

OldRider's idea of flashing lights on the bus is a good one or at least the hazard lights, but of course anything that is the driver's responsibilty is going to be subject to brain fade.

No-one who has, (had), children or who teaches/cares for young children will have any problem understanding what happened. I was approaching an intersection years ago in Taupo and noticed a young boy waiting to cross the road. I backed off and with my foot over the brake watched him closely as I approached. Looking me straight in the eye, he ran out in front of me just as I got to him. Slamming the brakes on I just hit him square-on knocking him to the ground. I was doing about 10-15km/h by then.

He got up and ran off. I jumped out of the car and ran after him up the street to his home and after checking he was okay and telling his aunt what happened and that I thought she should take him to the Doc for a check, I got back in the car, my wife had got in the driver's seat and followed me.

I was shaken up but grateful that I was prepared for just that to happen. Our three children were in the car with us and got a fright. Never assume a child won't do the obvious, even if they see you coming!

[6ft5]

OldRider's idea of flashing lights on the bus is a good one or at least the hazard lights, but of course anything that is the driver's responsibilty is going to be subject to brain fade.

No-one who has, (had), children or who teaches/cares for young children will have any problem understanding what happened. I was approaching an intersection years ago in Taupo and noticed a young boy waiting to cross the road. I backed off and with my foot over the brake watched him closely as I approached. Looking me straight in the eye, he ran out in front of me just as I got to him. Slamming the brakes on I just hit him square-on knocking him to the ground. I was doing about 10-15km/h by then.

He got up and ran off. I jumped out of the car and ran after him up the street to his home and after checking he was okay and telling his aunt what happened and that I thought she should take him to the Doc for a check, I got back in the car, my wife had got in the driver's seat and followed me.

I was shaken up but grateful that I was prepared for just that to happen. Our three children were in the car with us and got a fright. Never assume a child won't do the obvious, even if they see you coming!

Pretty rough, lucky you weren't on yr bike, kid would have been pretty bruised

[Edbear]

Pretty rough, lucky you weren't on yr bike, kid would have been pretty bruised

You're quite right, actually. On a bike, the first thing that connects is the front wheel which would have probably gone over the top of him locked up. Not a pleasant thought. In a car, the wheels are a couple of feet behind the bumper giving the kid a chance to be knocked away from them.

Those old Morris Marina's were pretty solid, though, so a good thing I was going so slow...

[6ft5]

lucky kid, makes you wonder what he was thinking (if any) when he decided to cross, perhaps that you were slowing and perhaps stopping for him.... will never know.

[Beemer]

... If a school bus is in a 100 or 80 km zone you are upon it often too quickly to know that its a school bus and to slow down to that 20 kms is an issue I think without enough warning...

I totally agree - in the mornings when travelling to Palmerston North from Levin I have often come across a bus that has pulled over to pick up kids on Opiki Road and the one leading to and from Longburn. As you can imagine, nine times out of 10 there is traffic behind me, all doing about 100kph. If I suddenly brake and slow to 20kph to pass the bus, I am likely to cause a horrendous accident. But if a kid should run out in front of the bus and I hit them, then I would be at fault for not slowing to 20kph.

I can understand slowing to 20kph near schools or in 50kph zones, but it's a bit like the 70kph learner speed limit - it puts you at risk of being hit by others who either don't see the bus - at 100kph it would come up pretty fast - or don't give a flying rat's arse about the speed limit. I once slowed (not to 20 but to about 50) when I approached a stopped bus and got overtaken by every vehicle behind me - so where is the safety in that? If any kid had been crossing, even if I could have avoided them, the guys behind me would have collected them.

I think that if a bus is pulling over to pick up or drop off children in a 100kph zone, there should be a safe area for the bus to pull into and the speed limit should not apply in those instances.

It's a terrible tragedy whenever a child is killed while crossing the road but perhaps they need to have someone on the bus who takes the kids to the other side of the road safely - making motorists in 100kph zones slow to 20kph is ridiculous. Teaching road safety and to stop, look both ways and only cross when the way is clear is also long overdue.

[FJRider]

Perhaps the kids all know that the cars are supposed to be doing 20km so they figure they can rush across and beat the car.

Whats your thoughts?

I believe this has similaritys to zebra crossings ... kids are taught that this is a safe place to cross a road. AND that cars have to stop for them. So they step out onto the road ... regardless how far away the car is from the crossing. Often they ride their bikes along the footpath ... then straight onto the crossing to cross the road, without checking vehicles speed, or how close the vehicles are.
At least school bus laws are giving the passing vehicles a buffer speed, to stop in time... should the need arise. I would rather be required to slow (by law) and do so, than put the onus on a school age kid, and say .... not my fault... with the death/injury on any kid. The 20 km limit, means you can lose your licence for exceeding the speed limit on an open (100 km's/hr posted) road by more than 40 km's/hr.

[Dave Lobster]

This excuse about children making dumb decisions is rubbish. Why is a child who is too young to know that you'll get killed crossing when there's a car coming unsupervised??
Any child over the age of four should know something as simple use the crossing or get an adult to cross you over the road.

Are children taught the Green Cross Code here? It was drummed into me at the age of three at nursery school. I was never knocked down by a car, as a child.





Personal responsibility seems to be be such a dirty word now..

[Chooky]

My main gripe is that the transport authority has singled out this case to prove their point about slowing down to 20km/h past a school bus. Though in this case if the kid has been hit by an ONCOMING car then it would seem he was hit in the other lane which is not restricted to he 20km/h.

Nope....speed limit applies both directions.

[davereid]

Personal responsibility seems to be be such a dirty word now..

Taking responsibility for your own actions is a little missing in New Zealand. I completely agree that we quickly blame the government, or some one (generally called "they") who should have fixed it.

But "they" dont always fix it.

Kids (and adults for that matter) sometime just make mistakes, just for a microsecond.

A child keen to beat the rain, get home for a snack, or simply daydreaming can make a very costly mistake, with consequences far beyond the real value of the mistake.

It costs me little or nothing to slow to a safe speed passing a school, school bus or when I see kids with a ball on the road side.

For my money, a family has been crushed by a childs moment of inattention.

I'd find it very hard to live with myself had I been the driver, at the legal speed limit.

And a lot harder to deal with it had I been 80 km/hr over it.

[cs363]

A mate of mine who used to drive primary school buses told me the thing that bugged him the most was mothers sitting in their shiney Landcruisers on the other side of the road.
He used to personally escort the kids across the road and then give the mothers a right royal bollicking.

That right there (Mums in Remuera tractors) is yet another good reason to slow down around schools besides the obvious. Mums in big vehicles packed with excited kids are some of the most dangerous vehicles on the road to motorcyclists as the drivers are often way to preoccupied with the goings on inside the vehicle to notice another car, let alone a bike...

[Pixie]

Let Darwin weed out the thick ones,it'll strengthen the species.
There's too many of the little shits anyway

[bull]

Hey thanks for that Chooky - didnt realise it applied to both directions of traffic. And would be very suprised if many others knew that it applied to both flows of traffic. Perhaps an TV campaign should be highlighting that both traffic flows need to slow to 20km/h.

Maybe bus stops could be fitted with some kind of barrier that means that the kids cant just step out behind the bus onto the road - a simple steel barrier that is mounted on the curb at the left side of bus stops and stretches a distance suitable for both the long and shorter buses.

[FJRider]

Something to be aware of ... most School bus routes have signs indicating you are on a school bus route. From 3 till 5 pm, you can expect to see buses on these ... or any rural area road. We all know school buses exist... look out for them. A little extra care around these buses may stop a lot of pain in a family for years to come. The onus of responsibility is shared by all road users ... be it driving, riding, walking on or across it. Take care out there... its a small world. The kid you hit may be related to you, or a friend of yours.

[awayatc]

The kid you hit may be related to you, or a friend of yours.

If a dickhead runs over one of mine then ONE funeral won't be enough.....

Persuasive enough....?

[PirateJafa]

School buses could have flashing lights that come on when the doors are opened, at least switched to active when they are in service and carrying children!

The signals could be installed front and rear and when active "so is the speed limit"

If a school bus is in a 100 or 80 km zone you are upon it often too quickly to know that its a school bus and to slow down to that 20 kms is an issue I think without enough warning.

OldRider's idea of flashing lights on the bus is a good one or at least the hazard lights, but of course anything that is the driver's responsibilty is going to be subject to brain fade.

School buses have two-foot wide fluro-yellow signs on them with the large word "SCHOOL" printed on.

If you cannot see this, please go and hand your license into the nearest police station until you've been to your local optometrist

If you're unable to slow down in time, then clearly you are already going too fast for the conditions, and deserve what you get for being a fucking tool.