I’ve mentioned here before that I hate being late. Failing to show up on time is the number one sign that you have no respect for other people–because you are basically saying that their time is not important to you. And as a recent rash of school bus related crashes are showing, it means you don’t respect other people’s lives either.
While the stories of kids being hit while getting off of buses in several states is grabbing headlines and clicks right now, there probably won’t be much follow up on the criminal cases against the drivers responsible. I’d like to see it all of them use the excuse “I was running late and couldn’t wait for the bus”. It would be pretty hard to make any other claims. I mean a school bus is big, it’s yellow, it’s got these bright red flashing lights. It’s all around pretty hard to miss.
But when you are running late for work, that school bus is the enemy. It’s slowing you down–making you stop–putting you even farther behind than you already are. And each time those flashing red lights come on and that little stop sign pops out, your anger and frustration grows. So you decide you are just going to gun it–go around the impediment and get back to speeding to work or the daycare or to Starbucks. The bus driver probably won’t be able to get your license plate–so it’s worth the risk.
But this is the time that the kids are walking across the street and they pop out of nowhere from in front of the bus or from the other side of the road. What’s been even more distressing is that in the five or so cases last week, the drivers just kept right on going–even after hitting and killing the kids. I’m sure the drivers rationalized it by saying that it was the kids’ fault for being in the road and that they should have looked before crossing.
It should feel like your day is starting an hour later than normal today. Use that extra time to get an earlier start and not have drive like a maniac or show up late. It shows you actually respect other people–and it might actually save a few lives.
