School Bus Transportation News at STN Media

Stirring the Pot

Keeping Up with the Flow

Jim Ellis | Contributing Editor

I am dismayed by how often I hear school bus trainers and supervisors advising their drivers to “keep up with the flow of traffic.”

The theory, I believe, is that “speed differential” is more dangerous than speed, per se. Driving slower than other motorists is inherently dangerous, it is claimed, because it creates traffic bottlenecks, increasing the risk of impulsive actions by other drivers and the likelihood of rear end collisions to the bus.

The theory’s proponents argue their case most vehemently when it comes to interstate highways. Here in New York, for instance, there’s a movement to rescind our current law which limits school buses to 55 mph when transporting pupils. I’m stunned by how many of my fellow supervisors, caught up in the emotional climate of the discussion — “that gosh darn state government has forced another stupid law down our throats!” — come right out and tell their drivers to ignore the 55 mph speed limit.

Like many issues our industry struggles with, there’s a sort of mindless steamroller dynamic to this debate. Statements like, “School buses are sitting ducks at 55” are uncritically accepted as hard fact, even though in the many years the law has been in effect in our state there have been no — that’s zero — reported accidents of this dreaded “sitting duck” category, i.e., a bus at 55 mph being struck in the rear by a higher speed vehicle on an interstate highway.

Some argue that even if school buses aren’t directly impacted (ahem) by driving slower, other vehicles approaching from behind are at greater risk of a crash, and therefore the lower speed limit is a bad idea. I have two questions for those who put forth this idea:

1. Where’s the real-world crash evidence of this supposed increased risk to other motorists due to slower school bus speeds?
2. What’s our priority? The safety of the kids on our buses, or the idiots in the motoring public who don’t know or care to know how to drive safely?

What scares me about “keeping up with the flow of traffic” is how fast that traffic is going. If we tell bus drivers to ignore the 55 mph speed limit and go with the traffic flow, will they just be going the posted speed of 65 mph? Or will they be going 80 mph like most other vehicles on the interstate today? Increased speed exponentially increases crash severity. The potential for a catastrophic incident is far greater at 75 mph than 55 mph.

I know, I know. Teachers, coaches, and chaperones go nuts on long trips if the bus driver isn’t driving like a bat out of hell to get to the destination. And many bus drivers hate driving slow on interstates. “All those other vehicles passing us is so embarassing!” To such concerns I say, oh well. Relax and enjoy the scenery. How about starting the trip 30 minutes earlier?

But my deepest worry about the “keep up with the flow of traffic” school of defensive driving is not how it plays out on the highways, but on our surface streets.
After all, what does keeping up with the flow of traffic mean in our multitasking, late for work, rush-rush-rush society?

• It means routinely driving 45 mph through small residential streets posted at 30 without even thinking about it.
• It means rolling through stop signs as though they were yield signs.
• It means ignoring school zone speed limits.
• It means tailgating.
• It means accelerating for stale green lights and running yellow lights.

In my personal experience, the most common cause of school bus accidents is bus driver rushing. When I hire school bus drivers, I tell them we’re paying them to NOT keep up with the insane pace of surrounding traffic.

Advising — sanctioning — our school bus drivers to drive like the motoring public? No way.

Ellis is the transportation director for Moravia (N.Y.) Central School District. He can be contacted at elsink@adelphia.net. All reprint requests should be addressed to School Transportation News.