Child Left on Bus...

hi M. yes this has happened to me this year my 9 year old daughter sat in a different seat and was missed the school driver drove right past my house. I started to get worried when her time to be dropped off past 5 minutes then ten and i started calling the school problem was no one would answer the school office phone or the transportation phone what a mess finally we drove to the school went immediately to the classroom and her teacher was on the computer after us trying to phone her for 20 minutes. She contacted the bus transportation who radioed her bus and we found out she missed her stop. It was very stressful because she is not to be released or picked up by anyone other than me and her stepdad due to an ugly custody battle which i was awarded full custody so we did not know if someone had picked her up. Ya think of all kinds of horrible things. But she was safe!!!!You did the right thing

Unlike everyone else who has responded thus far, I do not for one second believe the driver should have been fired over this. My sympathy actually rests with the poor human who was probably up at 5 a.m. to start the day driving everyone else's often noisy & disrespectful kids to school then going home, running their errands, etc. before having to return to get those same kiddos from school to home. Bus drivers have cruddy hours and this person is HUMAN - thus, totally prone to making mistakes as are we all!

Talk about making a mountain out of a mole hill, folks. The kid was FINE. The driver *should* have checked the bus before getting off, but maybe he/she had diarrhea that day and couldn't hold it anymore, kwim?? Things happen. It's called life. And if you set the example to your kids that mistakes are not allowed, EVER, um, how realistic is THAT expectation?

Common sense. Kindness. Forgiveness. All very valuable tools with which we should all strive to give our kids by our own example.

And I was left on the bus when I was a kid. To make it worse, the driver told dispatch, "I have a dummy who forgot to get off the bus, so I'm going to be late". Did he lose his job? No. Did my parents spaz out and make frantic phone calls to the school? No. I learned a valuable lesson that *I* was responsible for getting myself off at the proper drop-off instead of spacing out (or sleeping). Did I ever make that mistake again?? Heck no!! LOL

It's all about personal responsibility - not blaming others for our mistakes or choices.

First off, I am sorry that this happened to you, and I am glad that it turned out ok, but...

Ok, I know this is not going to win me friends, but the driver did not do his job by leaving the child on the bus. And he was fired. That is the appropriate punishment, hopefully this person cannot get another job driving bus anywhere else. It could have ended worse for your son, but thank God that it didn't. YES it IS the drivers fault that he was left after his shift alone in the bus, but I don't think that it is necessarily fair to blame the driver for the child not getting off of the bus at his stop though. If there are not assigned seats, which many busses do not have, the driver may not have been aware that the child was even on the bus. It is not reasonable to expect bus drivers to scour the bus at every stop to make sure all of the kid that are supposed to get off actually get off. I know when I was in school and riding the bus, there were so many kids on the bus that I did not know half the time if my friends were there or not, let alone the driver knowing if the 10 kids that got off at my stop were there or not. So if only 9 got off, he would assume that one was absent I'm sure. Plus if it is close to the beginning of the year he may not be fully aware of who gets off where, or who is who.

You said your son gets off at daycare, does anyone wait outside for the bus? Did the bus pass the daycare? Did the bus not even stop there (if it did not even stop, that is the drivers fault, they are supposed to stop at all stops just in case, as far as I know.) If the bus did stop there, why did the daycare not question the bus driver? If my child got off the bus at daycare, I would expect someone to greet my child at the door of the bus, not the door of the daycare.

At the school my daughter goes to,they have a day care in the basement(she adds there after school)I didn't know(because i called the day care and school)that i should've sent in a note the first day to send her there...well they put her on the bus.Thank god the bus driver didn't allow her to get off the bus and the day care got her back....(she's in kindergarten and they go half days still)
As soon as the reliezed what happened they called me on my cell,kevin's cell and my mil's cell to let us know the driver kept her on the bus and she'll be at the day care(she had to ride the bus for over an hour)but she said she loved it.I got several phone calls from the school and the day care saying how sorry they where for any problems they caused me(worriment)
But if i where you i'd call the school(or whoever is incharge of the bus department)and ask why they don't check buses before they get off them/park them.But with the driver being fired i'm not sure what else you can do...sorry you had to experience that.
J.

My kids don't ride the bus, so this is simply what i would do - but not from personal experience.

I would inquire with the school district to find out what security measures are in place to ensure that no child is left on the bus, and what liability the bus driver/school has in regards to making sure your child gets to their proper location.

all of this being said - i was just talkign to someone whose child rides the bus and in their school district, the school district is liable and responsible until that child is off the bus - if that is the case in your district then there may be some legal action you could take. Also - since your bio says that you'r kids are only 5/6 then i think its VERY reasonable for you to request that your kids be seated at the front of the bus to make sure they get off at the right spot - make sense?

I would also find out of there is a "parent advocate/advisory" group/board (some pto's might do this) because you may want to get more involved in that way too - because it may be that the whole system needs revised/reevaluated.

let us know how it goes....

S. w

Hi M.,

I'm really sorry this happened to you and your son!

As a former school bus driver, I know that there are procedures that need to be followed before leaving a bus for the night. Obviously this bus driver did NOT follow these procedures, which resulted in the loss of his job.

There's absolutely no reason for a child to be left behind. I agree with the previous advice, your son should be in the front of the bus. Also, if there's anyone else that you may know, that gets on and off at the same bus stop, I would ask them to be "buddies" with your son, so they can keep an eye on each other.

I'm not sure what else to say, except for I am really sorry this happened to you. I hope your little guy doesn't see this as a scary thing (even though I'm sure for you it was probably the worst time of your life!) and he continues to ride the bus with his new bus driver.

Wishing you the best,

P.

Wow, I'm so sorry this happenned to you & I can't imagine how I would feel if this happenned to me!

I know on all of our kids buses, the bus driver is to walk to the back of the bus & look through all of the seats. Sometimes he does this at our busstop because we are at the end of the run.

Ughh.. good luck with this & I'm glad he has his dolphin :)

The first day of school this year, the school put my first grade son on the WRONG bus and because the bus driver didn't know him (first day of school) she didn't realize that she had an extra kid until 45 minutes after school ended. Needless to say my husband and I (as well as the principle, teacher, and bus coordinator) were frantically trying to locate my son. I found out that the bus drivers are not required to carry cell phones...only walkie talkies so she was not even able to contact me, only the bus garage. My son did very well throughout the experience, he actually showed the bus driver how to get to our house (we were of course not there because we were at the school. I felt that the school handled the situation well, it was an honest mistake. My son got back on the bus the next day unharmed.
I hope this doesn't ruin your child's experience of being on a school bus. It's one of those life lessons that are unavoidable but crucial to their social development. I understand how horrified you must feel but honestly, this won't be the last time your child is in an compromising situation at school. I hate to admit it but I lost someone's child on a field trip at a pumpkin patch(I found her of course but there were just so many to keep an eye on!). It sounds unforgivable but if you are in the same situation, you can see how things are missed. Heck, I've lost my own children in Malls, etc.

By the way, my son suggested that we buy him a cell phone so that this doesn't happen again...I don't think so!!

that is intolerable! the driver should always double, triple check his/her bus before getting off!!
i would def. call transportation & cause a stink!!
also call the school district & let them be aware of this!
don't let this happen again, there are always those "what if's"

so glad your son got to you safely!!!!!!!

that's a good daycare you have!!