And was going way too fast.

Yeah didn't even attempt to swerve

Huh, I've never heard "Olympics swimming pool" used to measure something that isn't liquid. Isn't the proper freedom unit of length measured in "football fields"?

In a terminally car-centric society, the idea that drivers are inherently stupid and unsafe and that most people should be using public transport so they can look at their phones as much as they obviously want to is blasphemy. So they always come up with the story that leaves the driver with the least amount of fault and no real repercussions; was he using his phone and totally distracted? No! He was following too closely and the bus slammed on its brakes! Totally unavoidable accident where no one needs to be slapped on the wrist or have their licence taken away.

Protractors? That must be a typo, right?

And second reaction: go see and help.

A most decent person.

...

Though what are the odds he initially said to the youth "you'll never leave this place" before going to loot 4 PBJ sandwiches in the wrecked bus

I felt the relief in that hug, just by watching it. What a real one.

Also debris barely missed the kid’s head, what a near miss on many levels.

Yes, technically he was following too closely to account for the fact he was looking at his phone.

If you are looking at your phone you should probably be leaving much more space between you and the vehicle in front due to the fact that your reaction time will be significantly delayed. So technically too close. If he wasn't on the phone it would have been proper following distance.

In most drivers ed programs, they teach 4 second following distance. You pick a landmark, start counting when the car in front of you passes it, and you should count to at least 4 by the time your vehicle passes the same spot.

Unfortunately I don't think it's actually a law in many places.

I think the video might be evidence of being distracted.

I’ve been rear-ended twice, and both times heard the other cars brakes just long enough before the impact to think “oh shit”… I can’t imagine what a school bus driver would think in this situation given all the kids…

OK, I had not had audio on, so I did not notice that. There was no noticable deceleration, though.

The "too fast" part depends on local regulations and his real speed before applying the brakes. Someting that can be determined from the video.

That’s the traffic offense. It’s the ticket you get when you rear-end someone. They aren’t trying to throw the book at the driver. It’s a routine citation.

Whoever wrote it just called a traffic ticket an “investigation” to make it sound dramatic.

Yep, that's exactly what I thought. Even if you say that you were "brake-checked" for example, the cops in NYS will still give you a ticket and tell you to take it with the courts.

§ 1129. Following too closely. (a) The driver of a motor vehicle shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of such vehicles and the traffic upon and the condition of the highway.

Not to mention that NYS has stricter laws than most other states regarding stopped school busses; if they're stopped, you can't drive past them even if you're in opposing traffic.

This story stinks, but glad that no kids got seriously hurt.

Thought it was the sun.

His kid was in the truck with him, so too late.

"Lemme show you how hard I can hit your backside, bby"

I can believe it. I've only ever had 1 major accident (not counting deer). I rear ended someone and I still don't know how. It was on a bright clear straight road I'd driven down hundreds of times before. I had no distractions that I can remember. I know for sure my phone was in my pocket because I remember having to dig it out with a mangled finger after the crash. I wasn't in any rush. I leave more space behind other vehicles than most people do. All I remember is driving like any other day, suddenly noticing brake lights, and then stomping on the brakes far too late.

Thankfully it was only 30MPH and nobody was hurt except me. All I had was a peeled finger and a seat belt bruise. Still don't know what actually happened that caused me to not notice. I bought a dash cam immediately after that.

The people who hit the bus would be dead if they were in a smaller vehicle. Im not sure what your point is apart from shitting on pickup trucks.

The reality of what we watched was actually the best outcome to happen in my opinion.

it's dead, Jim