Makes sense to make people stop IF THE KID IS CROSSING THE STREET. Unfortunately, at least in TX, the dang sign goes out even if the kid just gets out of the door and walks up to the house. That’s ridiculous.
I try to leave early enough so that I can sit and contemplate my navel if I must while school kids load.
God forbid that I should endanger them.
I’m seeing some little kids in their first year who are excited when they spot the bus up the road.
God Bless them! I remember fondly when my kids were that age. Those were good times.
Being a former bus driver myself, I don’t have a problem with it. All too often, several kids will live near each other in a neighborhood, and while they might normally get off the bus, and walk right up to their house, you never know when they might decide to (or be told to) visit a neighbor across the street, and they deviate from their usual routine.
Also, as pointed out elsewhere, kids are notorious for being poor decision makers, so they aren’t necessarily going to always do the right thing. Plus, they are taught that everyone is supposed to stop for the bus, so they make the assumption that what they were told is true.
Also, the nice thing about TX (at least in Dallas where I was) is that many of the larger surface streets are divided, with nice wide medians. You don’t have to stop if there’s a median separating you from the bus.