A school bus driver was busted texting while driving. The Florida driver was captured on film by an eighth-grade student.
The 14-year-old girl hoped to record the bus driver cursing and yelling at students. Instead, she caught the woman doing something far more dangerous.
The driver was recorded steering a bus full of children with one hand. She spends much of the time with her eyes on her phone.
At one point, the woman grabs and jerks the wheel. It appears that she drifted into another lane.The incident didn’t faze the driver. She continued texting the entire time.
As reported by ABC News , the bus driver is currently under suspension for violating policy. School board members say the driver was obviously “looking at her cellphone” instead of the road.
Venus Cotto-Silva is proud that her daughter recorded the incident . However, she is upset that the school bus driver risked her child’s life.
The bus driver’s actions were unacceptable. However, she did not technically break the law.
Florida’s texting while driving ban will go into effect on October 1. However, the ban does not include bus drivers. Private companies and schools will be tasked with setting their own rules for bus drivers.
Lawmakers throughout the US are pushing for bans against texting while driving. The District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia, are the only states that list texting while driving as a primary traffic offense.
According to Distraction.gov , “at any given daylight moment across America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving.”
In 2011, more than 3,000 people were killed in automobile accidents involving a distracted driver.
Texting while driving is unnecessary and incredibly dangerous. It is even more dangerous when the driver is transporting a bus filled with passengers.
School bus drivers are trusted to transport children with caution, and use good judgement.
[Image via Flickr ]
