Cars versus stopped buses

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Gordy7

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#230701 9-Mar-2018 11:45

I love this rule...

Pedestrian safety for drivers

You must slow down to 20km/h when passing or coming towards a school bus that has stopped to let children on or off, no matter which side of the road you are on.

If you obey this rule other drivers think you are stopping and zoom passed.

Gordy

My first ever AM radio network connection was with a 1MHz AM crystal(OA91) radio receiver.

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#1971732 9-Mar-2018 11:59

Agree that is a problem.

Another related problem is that kids get off a non-school bus the same way they're used to getting off a school bus (those displaying school bus signs) because they don't remember which type they're on.

The problem with driver impatience also occurs with pedestrian crossings when drivers behind can't see small children crossing. The kids are obscured by the stopping vehicle and if the following car passes they'll be at the crossing just in time to catch the kids. Two kids were killed that way on my local crossing.

Gordy7

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#1971739 9-Mar-2018 12:08

Hammerer:

The problem with driver impatience also occurs with pedestrian crossings when drivers behind can't see small children crossing. The kids are obscured by the stopping vehicle and if the following car passes they'll be at the crossing just in time to catch the kids. Two kids were killed that way on my local crossing.

I believe the road rules say that you should not overtake on or near a pedestrian crossing.

Gordy

My first ever AM radio network connection was with a 1MHz AM crystal(OA91) radio receiver.

xontech

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#1971744 9-Mar-2018 12:13

Gordy7:

I love this rule...

Pedestrian safety for drivers

You must slow down to 20km/h when passing or coming towards a school bus that has stopped to let children on or off, no matter which side of the road you are on.
If you obey this rule other drivers think you are stopping and zoom passed.

And in doing so they aren't following the rules.

Sidestep

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#1971834 9-Mar-2018 13:32

Yep, that's one rule that should be more rigidly enforced. A few news items about people having their cars impounded will get the word out.

Just recently I was driving on a rural road and a school bus up ahead pulled off, turned on the flashers.
I slowed right down.. my own kids get off a school bus every day.. but while passing it a car pulled out and passed me, at high speed with his passenger flipping me the bird.

Around the next corner was the same car now driving very slowly, which - just as I reached it - pulled away, then dropped back and deliberately braked hard in front of me. Twice.

What an idiotic thing to do in front of a loaded truck... what a w**ker!
I'm not prone to road rage, but just for a second the thought of changing down and ploughing him off the road flitted through my mind..
That wouldn't have turned out well for anyone.

Drove along for another 5 minutes or so looking for a place to pull over so I could call the cops, but I've called before and they showed no interest at all. So I didn't bother.
Will now be putting a cam in the truck, so at least I can post on here under Road Muppets...

TLDR: Will be installing a dashcam to record dangerous drivers.

sidefx

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#1971894 9-Mar-2018 14:30

Gordy7:

If you obey this rule other drivers think you are stopping and zoom passed.

Really, always? Or did it just happen to you once? :)

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Gordy7

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#1971899 9-Mar-2018 14:41

sidefx:

Gordy7:

If you obey this rule other drivers think you are stopping and zoom passed.

Really, always? Or did it just happen to you once? :)

Did I say always somewhere? :-)

Gordy

My first ever AM radio network connection was with a 1MHz AM crystal(OA91) radio receiver.

sidefx

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#1971907 9-Mar-2018 14:53

"If you obey this rule other drivers think you are stopping and zoom passed."

should read?

"If you obey this rule [some] other drivers think you are stopping and zoom passed."

Sorry yeah I'm being a bit facetious but it sounded like you were rationalizing why you should ignore the rule... but IMO that's a major problem with drivers in NZ. Everyone seems to think they're far better drivers than anyone else, and that they should ignore rules because of this, or because other people ignore them. Or because God forbid someone else *might* get infront of you.

Granted there are many other problems like undertaking being perfectly legal and pretty much expected, poor road design, etc, etc. But it all combines to form this stupid approach where people do stupid things on roads that are poorly designed because they think they know better, then kill\injure themselves or others, then ever more restrictive laws get passed, speed limits drop, etc but a significant portion of the population continues to ignore them because they think they know better, thus ensuring that more people get killed\hurt resulting in ever more restrictive laws, etc. Viscous cycle yada yada, errgh, sorry /rant over ;D

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RunningMan

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#1971927 9-Mar-2018 15:10

Gordy7:

You must slow down to 20km/h when passing or coming towards a school bus that has stopped to let children on or off, no matter which side of the road you are on.

Had a guy start shaking his fist and ranting at me a week or so ago when I did this.

Gordy7

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#1971958 9-Mar-2018 15:25

sidefx:

should read?

"If you obey this rule [some] other drivers think you are stopping and zoom passed."

You are quite right.... English is not my strong subject.

I do think the rule needs revision somehow given the modern traffic flows and driver's views.

Gordy

My first ever AM radio network connection was with a 1MHz AM crystal(OA91) radio receiver.

RunningMan

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#1971965 9-Mar-2018 15:32

sidefx:

So

"If you obey this rule other drivers think you are stopping and zoom passed."

should read?

"If you obey this rule [some] other drivers think you are stopping and zoom passed."

If you're going to correct it, then perhaps it should be past, not passed.

Either way, the rule is there to stop little kids being run over if they impulsively run out in front of traffic, particularly when they can't be seen because of the bus. Revising the rule because people frequently break it doesn't help the kids.

Gordy7

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#1971996 9-Mar-2018 16:27

RunningMan:

Either way, the rule is there to stop little kids being run over if they impulsively run out in front of traffic, particularly when they can't be seen because of the bus. Revising the rule because people frequently break it doesn't help the kids.

Maybe the current rule is not doing what is intended... to save kids lives.

Maybe the rule should be looked at from the kid's perspective.

Maybe parents should park or wait for their children on the same side of the road where the bus stops so that the kids do not make a bad impulsive decision.

Maybe the kids should be taught to wait at the side of the road until the bus has left thus giving other motorists a better view of the kids.

Gordy

My first ever AM radio network connection was with a 1MHz AM crystal(OA91) radio receiver.

HowickDota

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#1972010 9-Mar-2018 17:12

Kids are already taught that, I was taught that. Having this road rule is another precaution.

k1w1k1d

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#1972085 9-Mar-2018 18:48

I slow down for stopped school buses and have had all sorts of reactions from following drivers.

There are horn blasts, flashing headlights, hand gestures etc as they roar past me.

One muppet even passed me on the left, between me and the stopped bus!

gzt

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#1972162 9-Mar-2018 21:49

RunningMan: Had a guy start shaking his fist and ranting at me a week or so ago when I did this.

It's bad yeah. Increasing traffic has increased impatience.

andrewNZ

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#1972210 10-Mar-2018 07:31

RunningMan:
If you're going to correct it, then perhaps it should be past, not passed.

Nope
Past is a reference to time.
Passed is the past tense of pass.

So, in the past I've been passed by other cars.

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