Child in near-miss after car tries to pass school bus
(CNS): Police say that a driver’s efforts to try to overtake a school bus on the inside resulted in a near miss with a child this week. On Tuesday, 21 November, on West Bay Road, a car attempted to pass the bus by going around the left side when it was letting off a student. The car stopped as there was not enough room for the maneuver but when the bus stopped further up the road, the driver tried again to overtake on the inside, driving over the sidewalk and almost colliding with a student getting off the bus. Police said this was just one of several reports this week of reckless drivers overtaking buses when people are being dropped off.
“To not only attempt to overtake a school bus, but to do so by passing on the left side, directly in front of the bus door, is inexcusable, and such reckless behaviour will not be tolerated,” said Acting Chief Inspector Everton Spence. “This incident shows a disregard for both the rules of the road and the safety of students travelling on the bus.”
Police are urging motorists to exercise care when it comes to public and school buses that have stopped to load or unload passengers and consider the safety of passengers who may be disembarking.
Drivers can overtake public buses that have stopped, once it is safe to do so and if the road allows it, but they are not permitted to overtake a school bus under any circumstances. Traffic going in the opposite direction is also not permitted to travel past a school bus when it is stopped to load or unload passengers.
Leaving aside the fact that the law in relation to school buses is idiotic, CNS obviously does not understand it anyway: there is no prohibition of overtaking of any bus, ‘school’ or otherwise when that vehicle is in motion..
IF there has to be dedicated ‘school-buses’ then there should be designated ‘bus-stops’, not less than half a mile apart. I used to walk two miles to school from five years old; it is not necessary to drop every child at his or her front door.
In my experience, in the USA it is standard practice to slow down to the speed limit in a school zone and to stop for the school bus absolutely, zero tolerance. In recent years, the standard of driving here has become a disgrace, regardless of country of origin. It is on a par with Miami Dade or worse – Audi Q7 or Honda Civic, take your pick.
Universally red lights flashing or two means danger or stop as well as in Europe. Fact of the matter is drivers here can be incredibly selfish and dumb, blocking fire engines ambulances you name it. No excuses and cameras that stream live from buses doesn’t cost much big fines is the solution word would then travel.
Leaving aside the idiocy of the driver, how are they able to even attempt to pass the bus on the left? I thought the bus would have been stopped next to the pavement in order to let the kids off. As an aside, some rules were put in place when Cayman only had a single lane in each direction, no dual carriageways. How far does the the rule extend on stopping? I tend to stop if there’s no physical lane divider, like SMB, but wouldn’t normally stop if there’s a central reservation, like the Kimpton. This seems to be the rules in the US, but the US also says School buses aren’t meant to stop on a dual carriageway with a central divider. Then again in at least one US state you aren’t required to stop if there are three lanes (ie SMB). Having said all that, anyone following a bus has to stop in all instances.
This is a bad law. The law has a moral hazard risk because children believe they can cross safely because if the rule and do not take sufficient care in crossing the road to take into account the risk of motorist non-compliance. The evidence is growing that this moral hazard is likely to result in more accidents and more serious accidents than if there was not such a law.
CCTV caramas should be placed on buses
Lookya,just the other day I hear Donna bryan call the talk show about a police officer in uniform pass the bus while they were unloading the kids.and I have heard her often enough speaking of this.it all go on deaf ears till a child gets kill .hopenot.
Lack of proper consistent traffic law enforcement is what causes this!
no- what caused this was an ignorant, impatient driver who needs his/her license taken away!! Everyone with a license knows to stop for the RED BLINKING LIGHT AND SIGN that says STOP on a school bus!! Everyone should also know to pull over to side when a fire truck, police or ambulance has their lights– that doesn’t always happen, but the school bus issue is absolutely inexcusable!!! If that were my child, I’d be on the hunt for that car until I found the driver– then the police would be coming after me!!
Not everyone. It is a strange American rule of the road which Europeans have never heard of.
I agree that this is not good and drivers should know the law about not over taking school buses. However, when I first moved to Cayman from the UK, I was not used to school buses because the UK does not really have them. I always had to slam on my brakes to stop for the school bus when it was in opposide lane because I forgot I had to stop for it. Being from the UK I was not in the habit of keeping an eye on the opposite lane to me when I was just driving in a straight line and not turning right or anything. I did always stop, but it took me a while to get used to the rule of stopping for a school bus, especially when it was coming in the opposite direction. So, maybe there should be a sign on the bus to say DO NOT OVERTAKE because there are many nationalities living in Cayman that may not be used to this rule. I know it’s pretty obvious especially when you are right behind the bus, but some people need reminding.
Clearly life in Cayman has gotten worse as our population has increased, partly by immigration! I don’t care who likes what I say, the evidence is as plain as can be!!!
Tell that to the hundreds of Caymanian stunt bike riders and wannabes.
School bus drivers need educating too. They contribute to this by stopping in dangerous places, position and abuse the law. I have seen a bus with no children on board used to transport what appeared to be maids, stop and use his lights to stop the traffic while he let them off. I have seen buses stop on roundabouts, blind curves and skew across roads to block traffic.
Me have to get where me wants to go so you do not get in me way, got it. Get those bikers and we show you all who is boss in this island man
What a asshole type of comment is that?
This has been happening for years; I have been out of high school for more than 10 years and can still recall almost being turned upside down by a reckless, inconsiderate driver when I was crossing the street after exiting the school bus. People have to get license plates and pictures and begin some serious prosecution of these drivers before a child really gets hurt or killed. Sad, sad, sad.
The problem with having cameras fitted to school buses is that it would also record the moronic driving of some of the bus drivers too, which would be less popular for the bus companies and their drivers.
I remember being overtaken on south sound by a big yellow bus, whilst I was driving at the speed limit, in traffic.
A bus discharging kids had a head on crash in Bodden Town with a big vehicle last month.
Why is news of that crash silenced??
Have witnessed same scenario by Fairbanks Road. Also another concern now that I always witness is the drivers not slowing down during drop off and pick up time by St. ignatius School / Family life center area and John Gray School. They should put a pedestrian crossing and humps there. Drivers are driving too fast, doesn’t care that there’s children crossing the road.
Uneducated drivers! Like uneducated Caymanians that are coming from the deplorable CIG Public school system,
This is crazy but it is also crazy that every kid has to be delivered to their drive way. When you get behind the bus on Walkers Road, it makes at least four-five stops within a 1 mile stretch of the road. Is it really too much to ask to have set bus stops and have the kids walks a few steps or the parents pick them up? I had to do this from my primary days, no matter if heat, rain or snow……….
Another reason why a proper publication system is desperately needed!!! School busses would be eliminated altogether and every child could gain some skills and knowledge by using a public transportation system.
We have the same situation on Cayman Brac. Though there’s not an issue of backed up traffic, it’s pretty ridiculous how often the school buses stop. Basically at every driveway. Let’s just keep enabling our kids and blaming them…
Public transport system would never be able to cope with the quantity of children as most of these buses are far too small, run irregularly and can barely manage with providing an adequate service to the public.
Yes this is the Utopia create by Alden the great and Bab bahbuska where everybody and his cat can come here and drive as they feel like where we had 8 cars per household cause the workpermit holders have conflicting work hours and locals have to to have a car for each social event where the epidemic of Road Rage is in the incubatation stages. Yes the stop lights and general rules of the road and the traffic law is being ignored and being made null and void because our stupid politicians cant control their enormous urge to waste public monies and control their corrupt habits. Unity government is on the verge of collapse and the traffic situation maybe the very stick that breaks the camels’s Down with these idiots and the pollution and work permit myth.
There is little evidence this odd law has any good effect, and some growing evidence that it puts kids at risk of very serious injury.
So your argument is that having to stop for school buses is unjustified because not enough children have been run over to make it a worthwhile law? Amazing.
No, dolt, the point is that the law has a moral hazard risk because children believe they can cross safely because if the rule and do not take sufficient care in crossing the road to take into account the risk of motorist non-compliance. But from your posts the concepts involved in such risk assessments are beyond you.
As opposed to waiting until the bus leaves, and then taking their chances on crossing a busy road with MOVING traffic????
I come from a country which also enforces this law, and NO ONE would EVER continue driving in either direction while a school bus is stopped. If anyone dared to not stop, they would be reported immediately. The fact that the traffic is stopped in both directions allows the students to safely cross the road. It works perfectly as long as the rule is respected.
Most of my friends from the UK, where this rule apparently does not exist, admit that they have witnessed students taking their chances running across a busy road after being dropped off by a bus, and they all think the rule requiring traffic to stop in both directions should exist there too.
What country? Because if you are from the US then the evidence is that this rule is widely broken every day. It is estimated that it is broken tens of thousands of times a day in New York state alone. The law has a moral hazard risk because children believe they can cross safely because if the rule and do not take sufficient care in crossing the road to take into account the risk of motorist non-compliance. The evidence is growing that this moral hazard is likely to result in more accidents and more serious accidents than if there was not such a law.
Consistent enforcement reduces said hazard significantly. But as we are all well aware, we have a serious enforcement problem here.
I am actually from Canada (Toronto) and I can confirm that I have never, ever seen a car dare continue to drive past while a bus was letting off students. This is true for both sides of the road.
If Cayman had enough safe areas for the students to cross the roads (crosswalks, intersections with lights) after being dropped off by a school bus, that would be one thing, but the fact is that they would need to cross very busy roads like Shamrock where the traffic is moving very quickly.
I really don’t understand how anyone would think it would be safer for the kids to literally have to run across a busy road, than the current system which certainly works elsewhere.
Well Cayman is lawless and the effect of the law in Cayman is clearly more dangerous than in Canada. And your inability to grasp the moral hazard issue is astonishing.
1:54pm , you must be a x politician to be thinking and talking like that .
tell the bus drivers no to stop on the highways. Your job is to turn down the road and let the children off. I know that’s an inconvenience for you, to have to turn around. But that’s your job. NOT to stop on a round a bout or on the highway and expect cars to stop for you. Why are the buses not being ticketed for obstruction of traffic? Never have a seen a bus stop on a major highway and be allowed to let children off.
I pray you do not have a drivers licence.
Or the ability to procreate.
yes, because if the bus driver was so considerate of the childrens safety. He would turn down the road, Then stop, let the children off with the stop sign out, instead of stopping on a round a bout or a major highway. Common sense here, people. Side roads don’t have as much traffic as a highway. And since the kids all drop off and go down that road any ways. Should it not be the bus drivers responsibility? Because the traffic is less, and its’ obviously more safe. But oh no, not for our snow flakes. And you wonder why lawless bikers break the law ect. Show the children it’s okay to inconvenience others, instead of using common sense.
I hope you two above don’t have children.
Spot on… I’ve seen them do just that. On my street which exits on a highway. They stop to let kids off on the road, then turn down the street to let more off… Doesn’t make sense! The authorities also need to clarify what is residential and what is not. Cayman needs to catch up with the modern world and make highways that are real highways, and stop treating them like city streets. Also I have noticed that they aren’t always pciking or dropping off children… many times I’ve seen adults getting on and off these school buses.
If they are wearing a yellow vest in the George town bus ,they are the bus wardens you cockoo,
When drive do not have patience for children they are not safe for the roads. Please a Caymanian public be our brothers keeper and record that license numbers when these incidents happened and contact 911 right away. Our children are our furture protect them. God Bless.
Another example of the sheer ignorance, and lack of consideration, displayed these days by so many drivers in Cayman. It has become the “ me,me,me “ culture of motoring.
Lots of drivers fail to follow any of the posted limits or laws. Red Bay school zone flashing light for 15 MPH yet even government vehicles fly right on by. No one gives a dam about anything, just a free for all and who ever comes out on top that’s it. Where are the police?
Apparently there is a huge shortage of common sense and an abundance of idiots!
How absolutely careless. Perhaps the powers-that-be in Education can look at a budget for cameras on the buses so we can nab these impatient motorists. This is heartbreaking to think that a child could have been hurt or, god forbid, worse.
When you don’t constantly enforce the laws many persons will break them until they cause an accident.. Wait for it Bam! There’s another one. No surprise and no hope of it ever getting better under CIG rule.
I have witnessed the same thing in Lower Valley maybe last year. Terrifying. Maybe the buses can be equipped with cameras which can be reviewed to get number plates of offenders and as a deterrent.
Get real, camera’s? Prosecute anyone? That is not the Cayman way but pure who gives a shit
I’ve just ordered a dash camera for my vehicle. Once I get it I will send clips to the police every night when I get home. It’s impossible to drive 5 minutes here without seeing several traffic violations. I am not sure why the police can’t see them and do something about it. The longer the police fail to enforce the easy stuff on the roads (running stop signs, running red lights, not using indicators, passing on the shoulder or sidewalk, etc) the worse things are going to get on the roads here.
Do Cayman Islands have traffic Law against passing a stopped School bus ? If not, then I would say it’s time to have one. Then these buses should be equipped with camers that would be able to clearly present the case to the Judge without any other help , before some innocent child get killed . But it is very iresponsible for a driver to pass a stopped school bus letting of children , and should be charged $2,000.00 and 1 year in prison .
People who pass a stopped school bus STOP IT you evil stupid person because these are children getting on and of these buses .
And I hope they arrested and charged the driver?
They don’t actually enforce the laws they just have them.
So true, he must be new.
Take his/her licence away. They know full well you NEVER overtake a school bus in any shape or form. People like this cause all the horrendous traffic accidents on this island on a daily basis.
Yep…and it will only be when a child or a tourist gets killed or maimed that the crackdown will truly happen…people just think of themselves, not about what others are doing or how their actions could affect others…I even have recently seen fellow Europeans driving whilst talking on the phone and as a result completely unaware of which lane they are in on a roundabout, and cutting across traffic as a result. They were not even aware of the near misses they just had…just because you are here does not mean you can forget the rules of the road. Set an example for God’s sake.
This is grounds to take away license for ever! Just plain thoughtless driving!
Uneducated and ill mannered car drivers seems to own the roads in Cayman! We are experiencing a growing disrespect for the law in the Cayman Islands. It is really high time for more serious penalties be given to law breaking car drivers. Nearly all the accidents occur because people refuse to exercising simple courtesy and disobeying the traffic laws.
the Licence for that driver should be revoked forever…..that is if he has one!
Did someone get the driver’s plates, so the police can charge and make an example out of this scum.
Tinted plate?
sometimes i wonder how people get their driving license in Cayman, do they pay extra to pass freely? worthless drivers.
I have never seen such a rude and reckless bunch of drivers as what we have here. Not sure where the culture of rudeness comes from, but I do know that we never had this problem until recently. For such a laid back society, why is everyone in a hurry once they get behind the wheel? Disrespect for others, for the law, and a lack of common decency seems to be the trend.
Was there an arrest ?
OK Do they know who the driver is and did they get arrested. If not you mean to tell me that no one tried to get a license number of the car?????
Please tell me they have a licence plate and police have followed this up with a ticket.
Put WebCams on every school bus and then name and shame the morons publically before prosecuting them
Simply inexcusable under any circumstances
Sharkey , now that’s a good name and don’t mess it up with bad comments or anything else .
It took me a long time to get that name a lot of years and sleepless nights .
Had a friend who was not so fornute in a similar incident years ago.
If you can’t safely operate a 2000 lb machine then, you have no business behind the wheel of one. License should be revoked, no ifs or buts.
if you had broughtupise you would know to wait but the people today don’t know what that is….
Look at their NEW influences. As a born and bred young caymanian, I see the change in the character / class of current “imported” labor. It is this influx of younger, disrespectful, don’t give a crap labor that is doing us in. When I was growing up eastern avenue labor existed when you needed someone for a day’s work. We had mainly older gentlemen with respect, mainly from the country, men who knew to work and came here to work.
Today we have imported youngsters, wanna be gangsters and those who are here because some family member told them too, got PR or such. I went through the government school system and did just fine. Look at it today, overrun with expat children (who’s parents got PR or other ) who have no care or concern for an education, neither their parents, now the system is deplorable. And it’s not the fault of the educators or the government (well maybe governments fault for letting them in the school system in the first place, now caymanian children don’t get the education the deserve because the system is dealing with another countries problem youth).
ohhh my…that is horrible….what in cayman such a rush to do something like that??
I hope they have the driver
Hopefully the bus driver or the on-board monitor were able to get the car’s license number and RCIPS will deal directly with the driver. There is no excuse for this; buses are clearly marked indicating that other vehicles must stop!
CNS, this is worth a follow-up
Install dash cameras on all school buses and severely fine those that do things like this
It is so odd that the Cayman Islands have adopted this dangerous American rule. What is more odd is that no real effort is made to publicise that the rule has been adopted when so many drivers come from places that have not been stupid enough to have this law. The evidence is building that this rule is more dangerous than just requiring students to cross the road, since the students are not prepared for traffic passing the bus and the rates of traffic in fact passing school buses remain consistently high wherever the rule is in force.
This “American” rule works great in normal places. You do that in the US and other drivers will follow you home if necessary to get your licence number and offer their views on your driving.
Likely followed by gunshots too
its is a stupid Canadian rule too
Agreed, did anyone get a plate or vehicle description? Let’s also avoid pretending school bus drivers are immune from bad decision making. Eg. Why on Earth is there a school bus driver dropping off precious human cargo every day in the middle of the Cost U Less/Krys Roundabout? Maybe there is a more intelligent and safer place to freeze traffic and discharge students – perhaps not in a major double lane artery during the most aggressive post-3:30 rush of the day (with seemingly no Police Traffic Dept)? #1 rule of driver survival in the Cayman Islands is, “don’t expect common sense”.
It is insanity, they also stop on the four lane highway in front of the Kimpton for kids that live on Raleigh Quay, and make then cross the other three lanes on foot!