How long should school bus drivers wait for students? [VIDEO]

We’ve all seen it – a school bus stops traffic to pick up a student, but the student is running late and not even in sight.

(This reader-submitted video shows a bus with its flashing lights on – apparently waiting for a student – until the driver shut the lights to allow traffic to continue to flow.)

So the question is, how long do you feel is the proper time for a school bus driver to wait for a student?

Bus drivers, what is your policy?

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24 COMMENTS

  1. I try as much as possible to avoid holding up traffic while waiting for a kid. I will close my lights while waiting, if safe, and even pull over to the side.

  2. The question should be up to the school/bus company and/or the bus driver but the real problem is the misuse of the bus flashers, the only reason they should ever be on is when a student is loading and/or unloading – not when the driver is waiting for the student.

  3. Since the start of the year. I emphasized to my students that it is their responsibility to be at the stop on time. If I don’t see the student present at the stop regardless of students running down all the way down the block, I pull away. If it is like half block away and only 10 second then I wait. I never had a problem with students not being on time as after a few incidents of not being on time they are actually waiting for me .

  4. They should not abuse the stop sign… Use it only when the child is coming… On rt. 88 there is a bus that picks up a special child every morning. It can take up 10 minutes (taking out the lift, getting the child secured in the chair, lifting the child onto the bus, securing the child in the bus, closing back up the lift, closing the door and driving off) and the bus driver leaves the flashing lights on the entire time! Blocking traffic completely unnecessarily!! I almost called the non emergency line one day to complain…

  5. If you’re like my daughters bus driver that can show up anywheres from 7:35 to 7:50 and has come as late as 8 then you should wait on the days you come really early. Bus drivers also need to start the same time every day apparently my daughters bus driver doesnt.

    • Buses should not wait, the children should be ready. there has to be a fair balance we all have to wait when the kid is there. kids not there… they find another way to school.
      I drive a van for a local institution, parents should know the official EARLIEST time for pickup and be ready then, thats the scheduled time. The fact is, between the rout and your stop there can be numerous unforeseen delays which cause the arrival time to be inconsistent.it is not necessarily that the driver starts at different times.

  6. When I see a kid running down the block to catch his bus and the driver waits for him I bless the driver for having a heart! (Kids and their Moms!) put in so much effort to make the bus for their (sometimes very)long ride to school; these considerate drivers have my vote! (And yes, while I’m waiting behind the bus I am rooting for that running kid to make the bus!)THANK YOU DRIVERS FOR ALL YOU DO EACH DAY!

  7. Buses should wait if they see a kid running to get the bus. They should not wait if the child is not in sight, but the bus should stick to a schedule so kids don’t have to wait longer than necessary and a driver should not come earlier than expected and then leave without waiting for his passengers. Drivers should give parents a reasonable window of time when to expect them and the kids should be waiting at their stops so the drivers can stick to a schedule and not hold up traffic.

  8. According to the OPT (Office of Pupil Transportation) in NYC, the bus is supposed to wait 3 minutes if a child is not at the stop, though most will hardly even stop if the child is not at the bus stop, let alone wait for one running to catch the bus. That being said, we have much less room for buses to pull over and wait, and everyone is in a NY rush. This makes it very hard to children who live far from school and whose bus times are unpredictable.
    There’s nothing wrong with a driver waiting a moment or two for a child that is coming (or very likely to come). But the rest of the traffic should not be inconvenienced for it. Pull over to the side of the road, and don’t keep your red lights flashing and backing up traffic until you see the child approaching. Then, obviously, it’s safety first.

  9. I think it depends on what time the bus showed up!!
    If a bus come everyday at the same time but shows up 5 minutes earlier, he should be considerate and wait up to a minute! Especially when the weather is cold,have pity on the children!
    Of course, no need to hold up traffic! Cars could pass around the bus.

  10. My special needs child’s bus comes anywhere from 8:07-8:27, sometimes not showing up at all. On a day my child was sick, I observed the bus coming, slowing down, putting out the stop sign, and leaving. He did not honk or wait at all. I do think drivers should wait a minute, honk and observe the home to see if any movement indicates a child will be coming out and if none is shown, then leave. But common courtesy would dictate that at least the driver wait for 2 minutes. Longer than that just causes congestion, which, in developments is just out of the question.

  11. It depends if those ‘Yellow People trailers’ are buses (stopping only at designated bus stops) or or taxis (stopping at every ones door – even if only 2 – 3 doors away).
    If they are buses we should be a bit patient until all students are on the bus even the ones running to catch the bus. But if they are taxis (or Yellow Uber) then if the student is not at the door when the so called “School bus” arrives – LEAVE. No waiting and holding up a line of traffic behind you. If you do wait, you are not a MENTCH. Your SELFISH.

  12. In the afternoon, the opposite is also a problem. I saw a bus wait 5 minutes for a mother to show up to get her primary daughter from the stop. If the bus continues on, the kid gets scared and cant communicate where they live or home phone. I once took a crying primary girl off the bus at my childs stop and called her mother bc the child missed her stop.

  13. Very simple. If the child is in sight, put the stop sign out. If you wanna wait, wait. I don’t care how long, whatever your mood is that day is fine. No reason to put the stop sign out if there is nobody to put it out for.
    Have a good day!

  14. I had the experience of waiting by a bus this morning (in Monsey) for over 4 minutes (I actually timed it). If the bus wants to wait, that’s his prerogative, but for the life of me I cannot figure out why anyone thinks it’s ok to waste the time of all the people in the cars by keeping the red lights flashing while waiting. I believe it’s partly about power in that it makes these bus drivers feel powerful when they could have that much control. Notice in the video how he suddenly closes the lights when another school bus comes, obviously had nothing to do with safety. I also had the experience a couple months ago of waiting over 10 minutes for a handicapped child of someone I know well, being loaded onto a school bus. Again, why is it necessary to leave the lights flashing once the child is already on the lift, especially in this case where the child was wheeled directly from the side walk onto the ramp so there really was no necessity for the lights in the first place. The sad part is that really in the long run this is dangerous because it makes people cynical about school bus safety.

  15. Yes, the stop sign does not need to be out when the child is on the bus and getting situated in their seat. But when I switched my son to a special school, I found it hurtful that my neighbors couldn’t wait even one minute while my on was getting on and would beeeeep their horns…

Comments are closed.