Bus Stops & Crosswalks

I wonder if the county school department of transportation even knows what the definition of words like bus stop and crosswalk. On my way to work I occasionally get to witness a pet peeve of mine that well starts my day with my panties all in a bunch.

I realize that I grew up in a different era, that things change yadda yadda but pretty much safety measures only get more stringent over time not more lax. I also know the driving rules and know that not everyone follows them. I know that when a bus stops ALL the cars around it are supposed to stop too. Both the traffic next to and oncoming. Fine. I'm also going to acknowledge that children can cross the street to get on a bus. Fine. But, and here's the rub, they should be crossing at a valid intersection, a crosswalk, you know a place were it is correct, legal and safe to be crossing the road because the bus should be stopped at a corner or at a bus stop waiting for them not in the middle of the street right before the train tracks making them cross 3 lanes of traffic, two of them oncoming including crossing a median on a main traffic street! HELLO! Can you say JAYWALKING!?I don't care how old the kids are it's wrong.

I realize that jaywalking is not a stringently prosecuted but should the county school board really be encouraging it by designing bus routes that require it? Give me a break. I tried to search on the Internet the bus routes and any rules and guidelines but it was taking too long and I wasn't finding what I wanted so I came here to complain about it.

Let's see what is the definition of jaywalking? Well, according to wikipedia, its: an informal term used to refer to illegal or reckless pedestrian crossing of a roadway. Examples include a pedestrian crossing between intersections (outside a crosswalk, marked or unmarked) without yielding to drivers and starting to cross a crosswalk at a signalized intersection without waiting for a permissive indication to be displayed. In the Unites States, state statutes generally reflect the Uniform Vehicle Code in requiring drivers to yield the right of way to a pedestrians at crosswalks; at other locations, crossing pedestrians are either required to yield to drivers or, under some conditions, are prohibited from crossing.

OK. Fine. Technically the kids aren't jaywalking because they are standing there, yielding to the traffic until everyone decides to stop for them and then they cross in between intersections across 3 lanes over a median to get to their bus. Still, it's wrong. It shouldn't be that way. Go to the corner, cross at the intersection, the bus could always turn into their complex (oh, the horror) and simply have them cross the street in there.

OK. Enough venting for one morning. Can you tell this is a pet peeve of mine. Hubby gets to hear it every time we see it happen. This is one time where he actually agrees with me. I'm taking a deep breath now and going to get my morning coffee. Gimme patience.