A Choice Is Not an Accident

This past week, in five different states, five children were killed, and six children as well as two adults were seriously injured due to people who passed stopped school buses. When I say 'stopped' school buses I don't mean buses that were sitting at stop lights or pulled off the side of the road. By 'stopped' I mean school buses that were stopped at bus stops loading or unloading children. The buses all had the red 8-way lights flashing on the front and back and all had red stop signs extended off the side of the bus, each stop sign had flashing red lights on it.

The people who hit these children and adults passed those school buses when the law specifically states that all vehicles must STOP when they see a school bus stopped to load or unload children. Why those people ignored the law will never be truly known. Why others are saying these were 'unfortunate accidents' is beyond me. These were not accidents, these fatalities and injuries happened because someone made a choice; a bad choice.

An accident is defined in the dictionary as:

1. an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury.

2. an event that happens by chance or that is without apparent or deliberate cause.

Did any of the offenders in these cases set out those mornings intending to pass a stopped school bus and either kill or injure a child? Were any of these incidents deliberate? Doubtful, but that doesn't mean these were accidents. Why? Because every one of these drivers made a choice to ignore the law or the rules of the road in one form or another.

Driving is not a right, it's a privilege. When you get your driver license you make an unspoken promise with every driver and every pedestrian that you will drive cautiously, follow the rules of the road, and stay within the boundaries of the law. Every time you get into your vehicle you agree all over again to abide by that promise. Every. Single. Time.

When you get into your vehicle after you've been drinking, or when you think you're late and need to speed to get to work on time, or when you drive distractedly because you've had a personal dilemma, or when you feel the need to initiate or respond to a text, or when you pass a stopped school bus because you don't feel you need to wait, you've made a choice to ignore the promise you made when you got your driver license.

I don't care what your reasons are, there is NO EXCUSE for ANYONE to pass a stopped school bus. Young lives are being lost because someone chooses to blatantly ignore the law and do what they feel like doing rather than taking into consideration the lives that are at stake. It's selfish, inconsiderate, rude, disrespectful AND DANGEROUS! Whatever your reason is for not stopping, it's not good enough. It will never be good enough! Make sure you understand that. Your choice is not an accident.

Until next time...peace to all.