School In Session: 36 MPG Down To 27

[RayCJ]

So, all the little kiddies are back in session. Soccer moms all over driving their precious cargo 1 mile to school clogging-up all the local roads. School buses stopping every 100 yards and then only going 50 MPH on the highways because, for some reason, the passengers aren't required to wear seat belts. -And what happens??? A 25 minute commute to work turns into 1 hour and fuel economy drops from 36 MPG to 27. Happens every year at this time. Ughhhh! Fortunately, I have some flexibility in my work hours but, based on past experience, the best time I'll be able to make is 40 minutes.


Ray

 

[Fawteen]

It's your choice to live there, and apparently you've done it long enough to understand the ramifications of living where you choose to live. The buses and kids aren't going away, so you can either hitch up your britches like a big boy and deal with it, or move elsewhere.

 

[pbm]

I find it annoying when the school bus pulls up and the child isn't there so they wait until he/she comes (often down a long driveway)....another sore spot is when the mommy and the school bus driver gab for a minute or two while cars are lined up behind them....

 

[tahoe_hybrid]

Originally Posted by pbm
I find it annoying when the school bus pulls up and the child isn't there so they wait until he/she comes (often down a long driveway)....another sore spot is when the mommy and the school bus driver gab for a minute or two while cars are lined up behind them....

it's never safe to pass a school bus on a country road..


I use extra caution around school buses
I give them extra room ... esp if they are infront of me (this way if a car rear ends me it will not push me into them)




This actually worked out perfectly not too long ago (I was lucky i did not get hit) but it was with in inches..

on a dual left turn the guy in the left left turn lane decided to do a burn out and almost t-boned me as i was making a left turn... school bus in front of me

 

[Virtus_Probi]

I have actually permanently shifted my departure time for work due to school season commuting issues.
A grade school was built along the route through my town that I take to go almost anywhere and the display of overparenting is just incredible...hundreds of cars snarling traffic by dropping off kids when the longest bus ride is maybe a few miles. The things these smothering parents will do to get back into traffic once they have dropped their kids off are also totally mind boggling.
We felt that riding the bus would be a good social experience for our daughter and it mostly was...there was one period when she was small when a boy two years older than her started picking on her. Two nice things happened;
1. The other kids ganged up on the boy to help get him to back off, and
2. The stupid turd got kicked off the bus for a time by the driver and his mom also got a public chewing out when she went to the stop to complain that her little darling wouldn't do such a thing.
Luckily, this stopped the behavior before I had to take it up with the boy's dad...barely knew him but he was about as big as me and I was told he was a swaggering (rear end)hole, so it probably would have gotten physical and maybe I would have taken a beating, IDK. Gotta love a boy who picks on a girl much younger than him and I'd guess he learned that from the dad.
Anyway, it can easily cost me 20 extra minutes to get by this school at the wrong time...but, to be honest, I love the school as my daughter had a great time there all around and was much nicer than the old one she would have attended if the new one hadn't been built!
The folks in our neighborhood who actually do have their kids take the bus will also park up and down both sides of our street while waiting for the pickup and then stand in the road to talk...this is more of an annoyance than a real time waster, but man is it stupid! Heaven forbid you actually show up just as the bus gets there and have to wait for it to get going again AND deal with the neighbors trying to cut in front of you willy nilly rather than wait their turn.
I also will notice a lot more traffic on part of my commute with all the high school students driving themselves, they are mostly pretty easy to pick out and can cost me another 5-10 minutes at one critical intersection.

SO, I leave for work such that I will be out of the neighborhood about 5 minutes before people start parking for the bus stop and make it past our grade school long before any drop-offs happen there. The stream of cars to the high school will only be a trickle at that point and I will also miss getting stuck behind busses in the small city I work in if I happen to cut through it rather than take the highway.
I hate getting up early, but it is worth it in the end. I also keep the same schedule in the summer because I get used to having no traffic downtown and being able to park exactly where I want!

 

[jeepman3071]

I don't have an issue with school buses. They are slow, but usually don't cause problems for me. The parents of the children are a whole different issue. Behaviors like talking to the bus driver for 5 minutes with a line of cars waiting in both lanes (i've honked), stopping in front of the bus with their car so their child who missed the bus can get on it, or this morning a woman in a Tahoe decided she couldn't wait behind the other school traffic so she hopped a curb and drove on the sidewalk around another waiting car because she just could not wait. Kids were walking on that same sidewalk a few feet further up.

 

[Gebo]

Originally Posted by pbm
I find it annoying when the school bus pulls up and the child isn't there so they wait until he/she comes (often down a long driveway)....another sore spot is when the mommy and the school bus driver gab for a minute or two while cars are lined up behind them....



I'd have to agree with pbm. I will add if the child that is late to the bus is running to the bus I am not annoyed. Sometimes, I am late.

However, if the child is walking very slowly and taking his own sweet time while 6 cars are sitting behind the bus and 4 in front of the bus, I do get annoyed.

 

[WyrTwister]

Luckily , I do not have to dodge any bus / school traffic on my trip to & from work . I can DEFIANTLY tell the difference when public school and college is in session .

 

[supton]

Originally Posted by Fawteen
It's your choice to live there, and apparently you've done it long enough to understand the ramifications of living where you choose to live. The buses and kids aren't going away, so you can either hitch up your britches like a big boy and deal with it, or move elsewhere.

Someone pee in your Cheerios this morning?

 

[supton]

In years past I've altered my commute to avoid traffic issues. Thankfully the buses haven't been much of an issue in general, might hit one or two, but that's it. I alter my commute more to avoid peak commuter times, and then on Friday afternoon's to avoid north-bound traffic going up for leaf peeping or general summer vacations.

 

[bradepb]

Ha Ha, I punch the time clock at 4:30 AM just so I can make sure all our buses get out to annoy everybody, our first bus leaves the yard at at 5;05 AM. They have a long way to go before there first pickup.
I also miss all the traffic both ways to work leaving at 1;00 PM. 18 mile commute and I make most of the traffic lights!

 

[JTK]

Indeed the first few weeks of school are dreadful on traffic load. Luckily with my rotating shift work, I miss much of it.

Having 4 school aged kids, I'm ok with the bus coming to a complete stop and waiting 5sec on pickup. On my fairly rural road/route with stops spread way out, they fly right by if my kids are not precariously sticking out in view.

The moms chatting it up with the bus driver is super annoying. I've been waiting in long lines of cars waiting for that.

 

[Mr Nice]

RayCJ,

What type of vehicle do you drive ?

 

[RamFan]

Same thing happens where I live. I have a 25 mile commute that typically takes 60 minutes (50 minutes on a good day) the day school is back in session 75 minutes becomes the norm for the first month or two until people get their new cycles figured out.

 

[HemiHawk]

Schools should start later, which would help the problem quite a bit for everyone. Safer for kids with less cars on the road, better for working people/commuters. Not the mention the countless studies suggesting kids starting school later would do better in school.

 

[MrMoody]

Originally Posted by Virtus_Probi
the display of overparenting is just incredible...hundreds of cars snarling traffic by dropping off kids when the longest bus ride is maybe a few miles.

This. School buses can be annoying but I would much rather have 1 school bus on the road than 50 cars. Parents dropping off should be required to buy an expensive permit with the money going to traffic flow improvement.

School bus routes can easily be planned so that commuters don't have to follow them in the same direction for very long.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

The magic words here are flexible shift time start for work a half hour early if its only the buses causing the problem.

 

[PimTac]

Wait until they ban fossil fuels.

 

[camryrolla]

Move closer to work to save gas, commuting times, and traffic headaches.

 

[SevenBizzos]

Originally Posted by RayCJ

So, all the little kiddies are back in session. Soccer moms all over driving their precious cargo 1 mile to school clogging-up all the local roads. School buses stopping every 100 yards and then only going 50 MPH on the highways because, for some reason, the passengers aren't required to wear seat belts. -And what happens??? A 25 minute commute to work turns into 1 hour and fuel economy drops from 36 MPG to 27. Happens every year at this time. Ughhhh! Fortunately, I have some flexibility in my work hours but, based on past experience, the best time I'll be able to make is 40 minutes.


Ray

I absolutely love this rant! The one thing about school buses is you either get hosed by them (if you're behind them) or you don't. It sounds like your "normal" commute could be achieved by leaving 15-20 minutes earlier. I remember one bus run that there were 6-7 stops in about 1000 feet of highway in one of my commutes. I made darn sure I left earlier. Another time I took a different way to work to avoid a high school in the morning. Those kind of areas are subject to longer term obstructions and slow downs. And yes, kids do not walk to school much any more.

Also good work paying close attention to your fuel efficiency! You'd make a lot of BITOG people proud.