Caledonia -- Shortly after 7 AM, January 5, 2010, a 12-year-old boy was dropped off at the 4600 block of Charles Street by his mother in order to get on the school bus. The boy crossed Charles Street and as his bus approached, he was hit by a box truck. The boy was thrown into a nearby snow bank.
The truck, driven by Jeffrey Winker, of Kenosha, was traveling north on Charles St. According to some upset citizens, this was an accident waiting to happen, due to the advent of "straight-line" busing. Children are no longer picked up within their major subdivisions. Instead, they must walk, or be driven by their parents, to one of the major bus pickups, which is often times a very busy street. These streets are even busier during early morning and late afternoon commute times, which often times coincide with us pick up or drop off.
When interviewed by the Journal Times in July of 2008, regarding the straight-line busing practice that was newly instituted, Pat Starken, Racine Unified's transportation specialist had the following to say:
"Getting the kids to school is the primary responsibility of my department and we need to get the kids to school on time," Starken said. "We also want to reduce that run time as best as we can, and if we're not stopping every block or every other block … it's going to reduce the time that those kids are on the bus."
Perhaps now Starken, Racine Unified School District, and Durham School Services, which provides the transportation for children, will address the dangerous situation that straight-line busing has created. Perhaps they will also realize that getting the kids to school safely should be his primary responsibility, even if it means more money and less efficiency.
This will be little consolation for the 12-year-old boy who will have a long road to recovery from his fractured thigh bone and collapsed lung suffered in this morning's accident.
Today the United States government has finally made it illegal to “text” while driving for professional drivers of large trucks and buses. Last month, a similar ban was enacted to prohibit federal government vehicles from texting while driving. Ray LaHood, the U.S. Transportation Secretary indicated that the new ban applicable to commercial truck drivers and bus drivers will go into effect immediately.