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A School Bus Driver’s Perspective

Summer in Washington is like a good nap; amazing while it’s happening but never long enough. One of the first signs that summer is wrapping up? The school buses that are on the roads starting this week. We’ve covered the topic of school buses before (and you can find those articles at TheWiseDrive.com) so I’m not going to repeat myself here. Instead, let’s hear from an actual school bus driver. I had the privilege of talking with a local bus driver and asked him about some of the things he sees, both good and not so good, as he’s driving kids to and from school. What follows are some of my questions (in italics), followed by a loose paraphrase of his accumulated bus-driving wisdom.

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Distracted Driving for Commercial Drivers

Q: The distracted driving law has an exception for commercial drivers, but what is the definition of that? I drive a box truck used for construction. It’s registered in the company name and has the company name all over it. I have a regular driver license. On any given day, I receive a minimum of ten calls from the office or customers and make about the same number of outgoing calls. Yesterday, I pulled to the side of the road five times to talk on the phone and twice a cop rolled past to see if I was in need. For the other calls, I was able to use the headset or sent them to voicemail, much to the chagrin of the callers. Am I considered commercial or not?

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Making Tailgating Tickets Automatic

Q: On the topic of tailgating, specifically enforcement: Why couldn’t they use the traffic cameras to watch for this type of activity and then just send out tickets? There should be a way to develop a formula for determining proper distances. And for the open highway, why not develop drones that could do the same thing? With all of the new technology it seems that it should not be too difficult to track and identify tailgaters, at least the more egregious ones. Maybe a project for one of the new technology sector institutions.

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When Tires Stop Stopping

Let’s talk about tires. I recently had a conversation with someone about tire performance and how it relates to the price of a tire. The question was essentially, “Is it worth it to buy expensive tires for my car?” There is a study from AAA that answers that question, but in the process of exploring the question I encountered what I think is even more important – how long you keep your tires on your car.

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Shoulder Driving to Escape a Lineup

Q:  Recently I was pulled over after I drove on the shoulder when I got stuck in a border lineup on the truck route. I was given a warning and was told that it is illegal to drive on the shoulder, even if it is to avoid being stuck in a lineup to a location that I am not going to.  Blaine and other border towns frequently have long lineups not just on the state routes or Interstate, but on local roads next to schools, shopping and businesses. If you get stuck you cannot do a u-turn to escape. What is the law about using the shoulder of a road? Is there any accommodation to local residents who are not intending to go across the border?

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