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TCat Member 
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In other forum topics we have discussed student safety and the speed on 150. Without a regular police presence in this area I doubt we will get much impact unless the town/DOT adds some speed bumps or something to help regulate the speed in this mile corridor of 150 (from Bunch to OR Elementary). Cars, and especially bug trucks have a tendency to just fly through. What really irks me is that school buses do it too. I know complaints have been lodged but it seems to come right back. We should be able to make an impact on school bus driver speeds. Right??? |
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macca Member 
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TCat wrote:In other forum topics we have discussed student safety and the speed on 150. Without a regular police presence in this area I doubt we will get much impact unless the town/DOT adds some speed bumps or something to help regulate the speed in this mile corridor of 150 (from Bunch to OR Elementary). Cars, and especially bug trucks have a tendency to just fly through. Are these driven by bugs, or are these trucks like "Terminix?" (Sorry, I just couldn't resist)  What happened when you called the bus office? Did you give them the date, time, place, bus #? Did they want to know how you could tell they were speeding, or did they listen at all? If they just brushed you off, I'd report it to everyone -- the principal(s) of the schools involved, Dr. Grier and the BOE. Blanket e-mail to all. In addition to speeding in general, I think this whole issue of bus safety is one we should all get behind..... and I'm not just talking about speed. I think parents should be confident that their children are getting to and from school in an appropriate as well as safe setting. Obviously they don't, or we wouldn't have all the gridlock on NW School Road every morning and afternoon. |
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TCat Member
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Darn spelling! I can't remember who was called but I think it was actually told to Town Council. The buses seemed to slow down for a while but now they are back at it going 50 at least. |
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macca Member
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Town Council has no control over the roads. DOT will take recommendations from them regarding speed limits, etc, but DOT controls the roads. Guilford County Schools is responsible for how buses transport our children and we should put pressure on GCS. And if we can get our Town Councils to join in that, all the better!!  |
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TCat Member
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I know DOT has to manage that part, but I was hoping our Town Council or Administrator would know the right folks to call as I wasn't sure who was the best to go to about the bus drivers. But working on many levels to ensure the safety of our roads is what needs to be donw. |
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macca Member
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I think that if you call any of the schools they can either connect you with the bus office or give you the phone number for it. I think the office for our area schools is located at NW high school. I don't know if there will also be one on the Northern campus once that is open or if you just have to call GCS to get info on that or to make a complaint. Someone with kids at Northern Middle may be able to help us with that. Again, I'd make sure the principal knows about the concern too.... and if you don't get appropriate response, broaden your efforts to reach more people until you get results.... (I don't just mean you, TCat, I mean the all-inclusive you -- meaning ALL OF US!! I wish all of us, as citizens/parents, etc could realize how powerful we are if we join forces!! |
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GRITS Member
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Bus safety is a biggy--especially with me! I can tell you if you call the school and complain they will direct you to the phone number down town to call and complain to the person in charge over transportation. I get the feeling when I call the school and the transportation department for GCS they all brush you off, and try to get off the phone as quickly as possible. But don't let that stop you,, keep being a headache, write your letters to the board regarding the bus issues. Parents need to group together on this to get every issue regarding bus transportation changed for the better. Lord knows a child does not have to be injured before something is done. Be proactive. I have had to call numerous times (phone number is at work) regarding bus issues for Northern. My son has had a total of 4 different bus drivers since January 28---to me, that is not a good track record. Offenses go from time issues, minor bus accidents, profanity used by the driver to the latest, physical assault on a 6th grader. Yes, guys "assault". I spoke up and told the assistant principle that there were concerns about this bus drivers behavior that I disapproved of. All I got as far as an answer was, "he doesn't come across as being that way. He is a very sincere and polite man." Well, guess what--he is no longer driving the bus only because of his attack on a child. I know this doesn't really have to do with speeding, but it is a bus safety issue. Had to vent. Nobody else will listen. |
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GRITS Member
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Also, when writing your letters be sure to maybe ask for police/sheriff/high patrol (law enforcement) to be placed at ALL school zones to start handing out violation tickets. Once the violator is ticketed and realizes the penalties for speeding in a school zone., they will not forget it. I already know what the answer will probably be (not enough officers), not my problem---get the officers, and place them where they are needed. |
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ff12 Member 
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Maybe they should go back to letting high school kids drive the buses like when i was in school. Most of my drivers were safe because they would have to answer to not just the school admin. but also to their parents. |
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macca Member
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There's probably a state law now about adults driving buses.... Plus -- all of the data shows that younger drivers are involved more in accidents. PLUS -- Do you really think kids today would be willing to drive buses? BTW: I just saw on News2 that GCS is going to have a place available on its web site that people can click on to give feedback about buses/routes/safety issues, etc. Should be active by summer. News2 has one on its site, in response to viewer feedback, and GCS thought it was such a good idea that it decided to add one....  |
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macca Member
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Dang!! I just went to the GCS to look for something else, and that link to allow you to give feedback about buses, etc is already there -- on the GCS home page!! http://www.gcsnc.com I say we give 'em feedback!! |
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GRITS Member
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macca wrote: Dang!! I just went to the GCS to look for something else, and that link to allow you to give feedback about buses, etc is already there -- on the GCS home page!! http://www.gcsnc.com Well, well, it's about time. This is great news Macca. I hope GCS really uses this tool to correct real concerns from concerned parents. I have the site up and ready to give my feedback. Come on parents, here is our chance! Last edited on May 11th, 2007 02:14 pm by GRITS |
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Stonefree Member 
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You know i have heard that Oak Ridge could get a police officer for an 8 hour daily shift for the cost of 100k a year...With 5000 residents in Oak Ridge, that is a cost of $20 per person per year. Am i nuts or is this something we should do right away. Realistically, we could get 5 officers, setup a rotation and only impact each resident $100 a year and provide 24 hour safety and protection. That is less than $10 a month to put a huge dent in the speeding and reckless driving violations in OR. Plus the cost would be even less if OR got a peice of the speeding/citation fines. WHERE DO I PAY!?!?! There was just an accident last night on 150 by the Methodist Church, a pickup truck was flipped over against a tree in the cemetery parking strip. Obviously going a little faster that 35mph?!?!? Stonefree Last edited on May 11th, 2007 02:21 pm by Stonefree |
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Vicki White-Lawrence Member 
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On Wednesday morning, Scott and I were headed over to NW Middle School for a 9:00 a.m. meeting. While driving on 150 in front of OR United Methodist Church, a little red car darted around us. Not only was there a solid yellow line in our lane, we were meeting cars. We could never catch up with the car to get a license # but I would caution any parent whose child drives a small red car (maybe late-model Toyota or similar) to make sure you know how they drive when you aren't with them. My guess is this was a student who didn't leave home early enough to get to school on time. This could have been a multi-car accident, with lots of people hurt or worse because a young driver didn't use common sense. He/She was obviously speeding and passed on a solid yellow line when meeting another vehicle..... There were cars behind us as well as meeting us..... This action was totally reckless on the part of that driver.... We were driving the speed limit at the time... |
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Vicki White-Lawrence Member
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Last edited on May 11th, 2007 06:30 pm by Vicki White-Lawrence |
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ff12 Member
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They even paved the road pretty fast. |
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S. Smith Moderator
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ff12 wrote: They even paved the road pretty fast. Yes they did. It was great! I copied this post from MAAN: ff12 wrote: Was on 150 in OR the other day . They had just one lane paved at the time and it was the one I was on. I kind of felt priviliged you know. Today it is all paved . I also wonder if they will put in sidewalks from the swim club to the shopping center. Home owners might be willing to give or the land to keep the youngens out of the highways and grass. I don't think they're planning to put in sidewalks any time soon. I think the rule is that properties in the "town core" have to put in a sidewalk when they're developed. I think there will still be sections of sidewalk here and there (like the one in front of the town hall) that don't really go anywhere and it will be some time before they're connected. Sidewalks would be nice though. |
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onthewheel Member 
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If memory serves me correctly, the Town of Oak Ridge spent tax money to purchase a radar gun for the Sherriff's department. This was to be used to control the speeders in Oak Ridge. I would be interested in knowing how often that is used in the Town limits and how many tickets are being written as a result of that expenditure. |
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