Thank the Lord that I was paying attention at this very crucial second in time on Tuesday as I drove back from class [Canyon to Fritch]. On that afternoon while traveling on the loop where Hollywood Rd meets Lakeside, I was strengthening my dusty vocals as I normally do when my small child is not in the car [That's a lie because I sing when she is in there as well]. The car is what my voice has been limited to in my elder years. Oh and the shower. OK .. back on subject! I am the ring leader in a long pack of cars traveling the suggested speed limit of 70 mph. The trail of cars and I top over a small hill & directly in front of me [I'd estimate about 50 yards] is a red Chevrolet stopped behind a SCHOOL BUS that is letting little tiny children off while their parents are parked on the side of this narrow two lane 70 mph road. With the smallest window of time to decide how I was going to stop, I harshly slammed on my break
s. My Tahoe did a life saving job of taking the least amount of time possible to shut her down & come to rest. The black pearl [my Tahoe's new name] came to rest exactly even with the beginning of the Chevrolet's cab. On the right side of it in the ditch of course where I had to maneuver it to avoid slamming into the Chevy which would then have had a domino effect into the school bus. With the same amount of gratitude that I have for my vehicle, I thank the vehicles of the pack behind me for being able to stop as well.
My whole problem with this is WHY IS THERE A BUS STOP THERE? And more importantly, why wasn't there a 'School Bus Stop Ahead', blinking lights, fireworks or SOMETHING to indicate that this would be happening ahead of us beyond where our eyes could see. After the bus proceeded along it's route the oddest thing happened. Only a short 50 yards ahead this bus pulled into the Lonesome Dove Estates community where there were cars [presumably parents] parked to pick up their children. They were pulled off of the 70 mph busy loop. Why in heavens name couldn't they all have been in the safety of a side road protected from the singing and apparently blind 70 mph travelers?
I want to add that I am going to investigate this further on Tuesday and search for a sign that I might have missed. For the sake of this never actually turning into a tragedy, I hope that I did miss a sign. That being aside .. there should not be an option anywhere on any 70 mph two lane road for there to be a bus stop in a location where it doesn't give traffic a chance in [insert inappropriate word here] to stop in time!
s. My Tahoe did a life saving job of taking the least amount of time possible to shut her down & come to rest. The black pearl [my Tahoe's new name] came to rest exactly even with the beginning of the Chevrolet's cab. On the right side of it in the ditch of course where I had to maneuver it to avoid slamming into the Chevy which would then have had a domino effect into the school bus. With the same amount of gratitude that I have for my vehicle, I thank the vehicles of the pack behind me for being able to stop as well.
My whole problem with this is WHY IS THERE A BUS STOP THERE? And more importantly, why wasn't there a 'School Bus Stop Ahead', blinking lights, fireworks or SOMETHING to indicate that this would be happening ahead of us beyond where our eyes could see. After the bus proceeded along it's route the oddest thing happened. Only a short 50 yards ahead this bus pulled into the Lonesome Dove Estates community where there were cars [presumably parents] parked to pick up their children. They were pulled off of the 70 mph busy loop. Why in heavens name couldn't they all have been in the safety of a side road protected from the singing and apparently blind 70 mph travelers?I want to add that I am going to investigate this further on Tuesday and search for a sign that I might have missed. For the sake of this never actually turning into a tragedy, I hope that I did miss a sign. That being aside .. there should not be an option anywhere on any 70 mph two lane road for there to be a bus stop in a location where it doesn't give traffic a chance in [insert inappropriate word here] to stop in time!
