A Train Doesn’t Sneak Up — So What Went Wrong?

A school bus gets clipped by a train and the video is hard to watch because it’s not a movie scene, it’s a real-life margin of inches. We slow it down, talk through what we’re seeing, and unpack the part that made our stomach drop: students staying in the back to film while the danger is still unfolding. When officials say “trains don’t sneak up,” we take that seriously and dig into what school bus safety at railroad crossings actually looks like when traffic is tight and your options disappear fast.

From there we zoom out into the systems that shape driver decisions: crossings with no arms, awkward intersections that force you to clear tracks and merge into faster traffic, and the confusing mix of rules around lights, gates, and required stops. We share our own habits, why we treat crossings cautiously even in our personal cars, and a real story about being stuck at a crossing with gates down and no train in sight. If you’re a parent, we also talk about the uncomfortable truth that not every bus driver is equally careful and why it’s smart to check in once in a while.

Then we pivot to a problem every district knows: teachers sending kids out early and turning a driver’s short break into chaos. We react to Mr. Bus Driver’s hilarious skit and get practical about dismissal procedures, keeping the door closed until the right time, and setting consistent boundaries so student pickup stays safe and predictable.

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Train versus school bus! A Florida school bus driver has been arrested after authorities say sh... 

When the teacher has the kids line up early! Cuando el profesor intenta cargar el autobús temprano | TikTok 

“These are our stories from the driver’s seat—our opinions only, not our  employer’s or school district’s. Student safety and privacy always come first, so no names, faces, routes, or ‘you know that kid’ details ever make it on the podcast.

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Transcript

Radio Faces And Housekeeping

SPEAKER_01 0:24

This is School Bus Bander News Edition Episode 16, where we're gonna play a video and talk about it, but it'll just be audio because you can't see us. We're we're we have um radio faces.

SPEAKER_08 0:41

Excuse me?

SPEAKER_01 0:43

I know, yeah, you're fine.

SPEAKER_08 0:44

I'm we're both fine.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Radio faces.

SPEAKER_08 0:47

We have a face for radio.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Face for radio. There we go.

SPEAKER_08 0:52

Yeah, so I'm gonna try if you're in the Facebook group. Anytime we do like videos like this in the news articles, I'm gonna try to post them on the week that it that it drops. So that at least you have some actually. I should be putting them in the fucking show notes. That's what I need to do. Duh Jerry, why would you make them go to Facebook if they don't want to? Put okay, I'm stupid. I've only been recording 700 episodes, and I fucking forgot. I can just put those links in the show notes. So scratch that. Don't go to Facebook. I'm not gonna post them there anymore. I still might go to the show notes, which has all our links and all that, and it will have the videos that you can watch at your own leisure.

SPEAKER_01 1:31

You are all over the place today.

SPEAKER_08 1:33

I know I am because you know it's Dr. Pepper, and I don't normally have caffeine in the afternoon, but I was feeling a little and that's I probably had some too, and I shouldn't have. Yeah, I was feeling a little droopy before we recorded. I was like, all right, I need to crack this Dr. P.

SPEAKER_01 1:47

So well, the last hockey game started at like 10 o'clock last night. I had to watch it.

SPEAKER_08 1:52

Oh my gosh, so you were up late.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

I was up late.

Today’s Topics And What’s Coming

SPEAKER_08 1:56

Did you get a nappy poo today? Damn. All right, so let's move on. News okay for today. We're gonna talk about a train versus school bus, which I know you've all seen, but you know, this is our our take on it. And then also we're gonna play a video when the teacher has the kids line up early. So it's more of a it's not really a news, but it's it's a funly, uh, fun little TikTok follow. This guy's really good. I I like him.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

He is funny, he's so funny.

Florida Train Clips School Bus

SPEAKER_08 2:24

He's really funny. So all right, so we're gonna watch this um this video. It's about a minute 19 about the uh the train, and then we'll kind of go from there.

SPEAKER_05 2:35

Now to a near disaster involving a packed school bus. This is in Florida, the bus with 29 children on board clipped by a train at a railroad crossing. Tonight, that bus driver now charged, and what she allegedly said just moments before that collision. Here's Will Reeve.

SPEAKER_06 2:51

Tonight you're watching what Florida officials are calling a near-catastrophic disaster. A school bus with 29 children on board clipped by a fast-moving train at this intersection. Now that bus driver facing charges.

SPEAKER_00 3:04

Trains don't sneak up on people, folks. It was poor judgment, and that's what led to this arrest. Poor judgment that placed children at risk.

SPEAKER_06 3:13

Children can be heard screaming on the bus as it passes by. Bus driver Yvonne Hampton telling police there was a car at the intersection and she was waiting for the car to move. She said the car began to move, so she began to go over the other side of the tracks, but the car stopped. But according to the arrest affidavit, the responding officer said Hampton can be heard on video saying, not gonna stop for no train.

SPEAKER_02 3:37

A matter of six inches is the difference in all of this, and it could have been an extremely catastrophic situation.

SPEAKER_06 3:44

Fortunately, David, no one was injured, but that bus driver was charged with 29 counts of child neglect and one count of endangering an adult. David.

SPEAKER_05 3:55

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 3:56

So you were the one that said watch that back end closer because there's dust or something. Because I didn't think the train hit it.

SPEAKER_08 4:05

Yeah, it did hit it a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 4:07

Yeah, watch the back of it. There's a like a little bit of dust or something that comes off the back of it.

SPEAKER_08 4:12

Yeah, so um, for one, I I want to focus a little bit up a piece that if I would say this online, I probably would get shit on. But those fucking kids, why are they hanging out in the back? Like they had no situational awareness. Like, if you think you're gonna get hit, fuck the bus driver. Go to the front of the bus at least because if it did get hit, you're gone. You're you you're you're dead. You know, or I mean you're gonna be severely injured. But if you're at the front, chances are you're not gonna be hurt. You gotta get you're gonna get moved around a little bit. So those dumbass kids taking a video, like I know you want your 15 yeah, your 15 seconds of fame, but you could have got sh freaking dead.

SPEAKER_01 4:55

That's that's what that's what floored me is when the ones that were that stayed back there and videotaped it.

SPEAKER_08 5:01

I know it's like they don't didn't realize how much danger they were in. So here's the frustrating part for me as as a driver with railroad tracks. Um, I personally don't go over any in my route, but I did when I first started at the district that I'm at. And they have like the the arms. Why don't why isn't it I think it should be mandatory if a bus regularly travels this for a route, it should have arms down. Because like there was no arms, and we do have some in our district that have no arms, and and we have an intersection just like that lady on on uh, and I don't know if you know where I'm talking, but um kind of over by where do you know where the ice cream place is? TC, the initials are TC, right across from there, there's a crossing just like that in the district we drive in. In our district, yeah, so you gotta wait till the car in front of you turns, and then it's so tight that you have to be able to go right away. There's no stopping at the stop sign, like you are gonna turn right and go, which I would try to avoid that at all costs because that's oh yeah, for sure. Because you're you're basically clearing the tracks and looking left and hoping that there's not a car there, so you can go.

SPEAKER_01 6:15

Yeah, we have a couple of those around us because uh for athletics, I have to go over one um down one of our main roads out out to another district, and and you have to clear the railroad and get into traffic that's going 55 all at once because there's nothing you can't stop on that other end of it, and I don't like going that way, but it's got the only turnaround for trucks to do that turn of our stage. But yeah, it's oh but it's what she said. I know she's videotaped what she said. Um, I ain't waiting for no train.

SPEAKER_08 6:51

Yeah, she cooked herself with that. If she wouldn't, I mean, clearly not clearly a dumbass driver, and she e you know what she may have been joking, but taking the action that she did is is you're fucked. Like you're getting charged. And I hope I hope, yeah. I mean, she got fired. I hope they do charge her. I mean, I don't want her to go to jail, but she needs some sort of probation and and a fine and not be able to drive a bus ever again.

Rules For Lights Gates And Stops

SPEAKER_01 7:15

No, definitely because it was stupid, scary, scary to watch. Um, I don't like railroad trains in general, or railroad and trains in general. I just I never been on one. I don't like them. When I cross in my car, I pretty much do the same stop that I do in my bus. I don't open my door, of course, but I stop, I look, and I have done that for since driver's training. I think I'd be petrified to go over. They're always in movies, train crashes, you know. It's just it's one of those things. It's like swimming in our lake and thinking maybe you're gonna get eaten by a shark where there's a shark. You know, it's just it's one of those where I'm never ever in that big of a hurry in my car, even where I'm just gonna stop at these tracks. Mainly also because where we live, they're so pothole and bumpy, I don't want to crack my car going over them, you know, right 50 miles an hour, so I go over them slow.

SPEAKER_08 8:12

But one thing I do like in the state that we live on, they've changed the rules, and it may even be in your state as well. But if it's controlled by a light, you don't have to stop, which I love because uh one when I drive for the elderly, there's tracks all over, and they're all controlled by lights, and I can just blow through them, which I know you say you stop in your car.

SPEAKER_01 8:34

I still look, I still look, I still do my yellows and look. Yep.

SPEAKER_08 8:40

It's if it's controlled by a light, I'm like, I hate these doing this fucking thing. Like, and and it's fine, like, okay, yeah, I have to live with it if something happens, but I ain't getting charged, right? Because like I'm following the the rule. The rule says if it's controlled by a light, I can go. So giddy up. Right. I do it with a bus.

SPEAKER_01 9:01

There was a time um where I drove out towards our lake and the gates were down, stuck down. Uh flashing, the gates were down. Uh, was with another bus driver. Clearly, no trains coming. We could see in both directions. And I remember from our training back then, before there were phone numbers posted, you called 911 as a bus driver. So I did. I called 911, they patched me through, and I'm like, Can you see if there's any trains in the area? And you know, we're down. We couldn't go that way because the gates are down. So we actually were stuck there till for about I don't know, I want to say 12 minutes, and then they went up. So yeah, it's it's I don't like it for that reason too. Why were they down?

SPEAKER_08 9:47

You know, yeah, I would be nervous to be like, if you could get through, and they're like, Yeah, you're fine, go. I'm like, yeah, I don't know. Who are you?

SPEAKER_01 9:59

Yeah, it was uh yeah, so that video is the is so disturbing. I mean, I knew we were gonna talk about it when it happened. You and I were already, you know, showing each other that when it when it happened, but do you uh did it say where? Oh, it was Florida.

SPEAKER_07 10:14

Of course it's Florida, of course it's Florida, everything happens in Florida.

SPEAKER_01 10:19

I think she looked like she'd been driving for a while, so she should know.

SPEAKER_08 10:25

But see, that's the thing. There's one of those in every district. I mean, not to say to that extreme, but there's I hate to break it to y'all, there's drivers that are driving your kids around that really don't give a shit. And and I hate to say it, but they're not there for the right reason. They're there for health benefits because they're old and they don't want to pay for because that's that's that's the advantage, right? If you have an older, if you're an older person and you're you know you you don't have a you don't want a full-time job, but you want enough to get health benefits. I mean, that's it's a good gig to do that. So uh you know, just I think as a parent, and and I did not do this, and I kind of feel bad, you should check in with your bus driver for your kids every once in a while.

SPEAKER_01 11:06

See who's driving you, yeah. I love my parents so much.

SPEAKER_08 11:09

Just see what's cooking, what's going, just get get some eyeballs on there, you know. Not to not to be a narc or anything, but like just uh I don't know how much you can take from when the the person stops and you look at them and you wave. I mean, I guess if they have a cigarette hanging out of their mouth, that's probably you know a good indicator that they're smoking.

SPEAKER_01 11:31

I said, Oh, I don't want kids today, I want all the puppies on my bus.

SPEAKER_08 11:34

Oh god, I want to bring my dog so bad on the bus. Yeah, he is just he would the the pity, the white pity. He would just shit a brick, not literally, he would just run up and down and lick all the kids, and it would just be the best. And uh, I think there's therapy dogs at school. We need therapy dogs for the bus. I'm just saying.

SPEAKER_01 11:55

Yeah. Oh my gosh, you're on to something.

The TikTok That Nails Dismissal

SPEAKER_08 11:58

I know. All right, moving on. Uh, when a teacher has a kids line up early, so this guy has literally got the best name on on uh TikTok and Facebook, it's Mr. Bus Driver. Like I he must have started really early. Um, he's he's very funny. So we're gonna play that. And it's in reference on which is kind of a thing, it could be labeled as grind your gears. Uh, when the teachers send those damn kids out so freaking early, and you're trying to balance what to do. So we'll watch this and then and Joe and I will uh tell you what we do uh when they send the kids out early.

SPEAKER_04 12:36

145. So we've got about 15 minutes to try to take a nap at least.

SPEAKER_03 12:50

153. Why'd you bring them kids?

SPEAKER_04 13:01

And I know what you want. One fifty seven three minutes.

SPEAKER_03 13:41

Hey, I I'm so sorry. I I was cleaning the windows and sleeping. I didn't see you out there. How you doing? We got him, thank you. Next time tell your teacher, two o'clock means two o'clock. They take forever to unload these buses in the morning, but in the afternoon want to cut our break short, putting y'all on 10 minutes early.

Our Rules When Kids Arrive Early

SPEAKER_08 14:00

Love him. Yeah, he's so good in his skits. Like, this is where I like see that stuff. I'm like, why can't I be that creative? Because like he's freaking hilarious. So obviously, you heard he's stalling every which way to not let the kids on the bus, which it's hilarious. You drop them off early in the morning, and bull boy, you're getting an email the next day. But if you uh my my um my building locks their doors, it's they're not even open till the like they can't even like even for the little the littles. Um, so yeah, he's just frustrated as why they let him out early. So I um for me, I do not let those kids on till 239. That is the time I've picked. The bell isn't even supposed to ring till like 1240. Or sorry, 1240. What is Romy? Uh I said 339. 340, right? That's when our bell rings.

SPEAKER_01 15:01

I yours is different than ours, but it shouldn't be.

SPEAKER_08 15:04

I think it should be standard. But, anyways, they're out at 333 sometimes. 335, and I get the they bring out the littles first, you know, the the safeties and stuff like that. But um, yeah, I don't let them on early, and even if it's cold out, I don't let them on.

SPEAKER_01 15:21

In contents with the video because a lot of it is audio and you can't see it, but you can go to his, I'm sure you can go find his page. But um, it I do that same thing, and it's so funny. I I get there, I get all comfortable, I get straightened around, check your bus, do I maybe clean the rails or something, and then I go like three seats back, do you and just start working? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then I'll go start doing some paperwork. And then he looks up. If you can hear voices and stuff, he starts sweeping and he's like, Nope, still not time. And then he's um cleaning the windows, and uh, but I do everything so my kids don't see if they come out early. There's very it's not too rare when they come out early, but sometimes they do. And um, then you got to get your face on, you know. He's like, Okay, I gotta get ready to greet him, but I don't know hear a bell. I never hear a bell. I just know that at 336, I start hearing them come out. The littles will come out first, your kindergartners will come out first, and those are the ones that you gotta sit with the longest. And we are not instructed to leave. It has been they put me in the front because they know I won't leave early. Um, we can't leave until 3:35. So from 3:36 to 345, we're in charge of all of our kids and we sit there. It was I think at the beginning of the year when we're starting to try and feel each other out between teachers and and the bus drivers, but they send the little ones out early, or a sub might actually accidentally send them out early. But yeah, my my door will stay closed. I'll go three seats back or four seats back, hunker down, get on my phone, or read. You know, I'm reading all the time. Now, lately, when it's nice out, we've had some great weather. Um, not today. Well, today was I like today, but we I'm the first bus, and my bus is up by uh reading nook in the pla, not the playground, but kind of in the grassy area. So I tell my kids, I'm like, don't even get on the bus, put your backpacks here by me and just run around because you're gonna do this on the bus. You might as well do it out here in the grass. And I felt bad because it was all squishy and muddy from all that rain that we had, but it was uh I I am doing that now. I'll go sit on one of those um nice chairs that they bought and and they know the door is closed, so they can drop their backpack right there in line, and then they can run around for about four minutes, and then I say load up, and they load up, and anybody that ruins it for us, you know, we we don't go outside the next day. Yeah, it's working.

SPEAKER_08 17:51

I mean, I I I don't want to sit sound like a complete psycho. If it's pouring rain, I will open the doors and they can cook. Well, yeah, but if it's if it's sprinkling, no. If it's even a light rain, no. If it's snowing, no. I mean, and and I honestly, you go back, I sit in my seat because you know what? The bus is uncomfortable. Like, I I my chair, like, you don't have an air ride seat, and and I love it, it's very comfortable. I sit right in the front on TikTok, I stare right at them.

SPEAKER_01 18:20

But but I want my feet up, so I'll get in the seat and I'll turn, put my back against the butt, and I put my feet up. Yeah, that's that's why I get into a seat.

SPEAKER_08 18:28

I have sensitive tailbone issues, so I like those seats. I've ridden in those before, those bus seats are very uncomfortable.

SPEAKER_01 18:35

They're they're you're an old you're an old man.

When Staff Tries To Load Kids Early

SPEAKER_08 18:37

Well, I understand that's that's that's not up for this. Yeah, that's not up for debate. I am old. Um, but yeah, I mean it's it's it's a constant issue, I bet at every district. I I can see drivers going, oh yeah, it pisses me off when they send them out, blah, blah, blah. I don't know if I said this on the show, and I might have. Um, and if I see just uh behind the curtains, we record every two weeks, and sometimes I forget, but and you might get some duplicates, but fuck you. I'm gonna say it anyways. Uh, one time I uh between our half days, we have a limit, limited amount of time, and I had to pee really bad. So I went in and I had one of the teachers walking my kids to the door. I said, Excuse me. And she's like, Well, we got to get them on the bus. And I was like, Nope. I'm in charge of them, like, even though you said like, and technically, yes, the teachers are in charge of when on the sidewalk, but I'm in charge of them bringing to them and letting them on the bus. Now the door was closed, so I don't know if she was gonna try to open the door or what. Oh man, but I kind of gave her a little S and she's like, Well, we were told to get them on now. I think they had a they had a PD day, and so they needed to get going because they want to get done, right? Not our problem, not our problem, but I can't have you like randomly like I wasn't out yet. I came out of the the bathroom and outside, and then they were there, and I'm like, Were you just gonna sit them there? Because that's dangerous, because what happens if another bus moves? Like, you know what I mean? Like, if you left them there and walked away, I'm not saying she would have done that, but and all of a sudden something happened, like who's at fault there? Like, you know, I don't know, just kind of frustrated me a little bit. Like, I'm in control, letting them come on the bus.

SPEAKER_01 20:21

It needs to be consistent. I think we've um at my school anyway, we've we've done really well um lately with that, but in in years past, it's been pretty rough. But um, they have a long way to get to meet from where they get left led out to down to where I'm parked. But uh, it's now that I'm I have like you know, you guys can play in this little grassy area, you can't go anywhere else, don't ruin it for anybody else. Put your backpacks here, you know. That's been working out really good. Everybody's been pretty good about that. But yeah, I just uh like you said, in the morning, we can't let them out until a certain time because the school is locked.

SPEAKER_08 20:57

Yeah, and if we do and they're running around like freaking idiots, we get an email, which is fine. I don't drop my kids. I'm actually on the last bus that rolls in just for that reason. Cause like again, I don't want to sit now. If I had a little playground, I might do it. If I got there early, I'm like, go, go, go. I mean, it's like good for them, good for the teachers. They, you know, but I don't. I roll in right on time or maybe a smidge late so that I can just drop them off and and peace out.

SPEAKER_01 21:26

So, yep, that's what I do. I'm rolling in and I go, you know, it's 8.19 at 820. We can we can open the door, and I got like you know, 10 eyeballs on that clock when it changes. Open the door, but and and I'll use that time too to do birthdays or you know, practice when emergency windows or whatnot. But um, usually we're rolling in and I'll open that door and like, yep, see ya.

Reaching Out To Mr Bus Driver

SPEAKER_08 21:47

Peace out. All right. Well, Joe's Josephina, this was good. Um, I am gonna reach out to Mr. Bus Driver and see if we can get him on the show.

SPEAKER_01 21:58

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_08 21:59

Yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna get off tonight and uh message him in the CD. That'd be a fun little interview, wouldn't it?

SPEAKER_01 22:06

Like just oh my god, it'd be hysterical.

SPEAKER_08 22:09

I mean, that he's very charismatic and he probably has a shit ton of stories.

SPEAKER_01 22:15

Yeah. Oh, that would be the Best. Yeah. That would be awesome.

SPEAKER_08 22:19

Yeah. And then he could promote us too a little bit. So scratch my back. I'll scratch it back.

SPEAKER_01 22:24

Even just to have have that um commodity. You know, you learn so much from each other. For sure. Which is the point of doing this.

SPEAKER_08 22:32

Yes. All right. Well, that's that's all. We're done. Um, I appreciate you, Joe. I appreciate all the listeners.

SPEAKER_01 22:41

Back at you.

SPEAKER_08 22:41

All right. Just a reminder. You can email us schoolbusbanter at gmail.com, Facebook group, link in this in the description. Also, I will post these videos in the description so you can watch them and check out Mr. Bus Driver. And then text me, 757-529-1574. I would love to see your pretty face. And I appreciate you guys.

SPEAKER_01 23:02

Face.

SPEAKER_08 23:02

What?

SPEAKER_01 23:04

Face only.

SPEAKER_08 23:05

Face only. Pretty face. Okay, ten four. Uh, and uh, as always, same bus, same kids, different stories.

SPEAKER_01 23:14

And remember, just say ten four.

SPEAKER_07 23:17

Please, for the love of God. Peace out, peace out of the house.