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Has anyone ever heard of school busses having bike racks? I suppose that would be a pretty enlightened school district, maybe too much to hope for. I know many school districts don't even allow kids to ride to school at all.
I thought of it the other day because I have a 4th grader who would love to ride his bike to school, only about a mile, and I could ride with him in the morning, but he gets out in mid-afternoon while I am still at work. His mom doesn't trust him to ride home by himself yet, and she can't meet him there because of scheduling reasons, so I thought it'd be great if he just had a way to ride the school bus home with his bike.
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I don't know about Maine, but here in Ohio a bike rack on a school bus would be illegal. The laws and regulations are very strict, and Ohio buses are inspected twice a year. It took us 2 months of negotiation and red tape cutting to be allowed to install an oxygen tank holder for a passenger who used oxygen. Plans and drawings had to be submitted, then after permission to install, it had to be inspected and approved.
Carrying the bike loose in the bus would also be prohibited. But if the bike was safely secured inside that would be allowed. It would have to be secured well enough to withstand a crash and not become a projectile.
Buses usually have a compartment under the frame accessed from the outside, if that was big enough it could go in there. (in Ohio) But truthfully, I can't see many school systems allowing the driver to take the extra time needed to put it in and take it out. What if 20 kids wanted to do that?
TJ
The Oakland Unified School District serves my neighborhood. Bus/bike racks had better be very low on the funding list. It's an admirable idea, but the schools around here have more pressing needs.
Get him a folder.
+1
He'll be the coolest kid on the block. I use one to commute every day and boy, do I get a lot of comments. :)
The best suggestion for the OP would be for him to leave his bike locked at school and then mom or dad goes by later and retrieves it. We actually have a few parents at my school who do that.
That's a good idea. Maybe it'll give me incentive for coming up with a way to tow another bike behind mine. Then I could pick it myself on my way home. I think I'll post that query over an Car-Free...
Only disadvantage to that would be that he wouldn't have it between the time he got out of school and the time I got home.
That's a good idea. Maybe it'll give me incentive for coming up with a way to tow another bike behind mine. Then I could pick it myself on my way home. I think I'll post that query over an Car-Free...
Only disadvantage to that would be that he wouldn't have it between the time he got out of school and the time I got home.
Buy him another bike then so he has a commuting bike and a fun bike. ;)
-Nate
Has anyone ever heard of school busses having bike racks? I suppose that would be a pretty enlightened school district, maybe too much to hope for. I know many school districts don't even allow kids to ride to school at all.
I thought of it the other day because I have a 4th grader who would love to ride his bike to school, only about a mile, and I could ride with him in the morning, but he gets out in mid-afternoon while I am still at work. His mom doesn't trust him to ride home by himself yet, and she can't meet him there because of scheduling reasons, so I thought it'd be great if he just had a way to ride the school bus home with his bike.
Get a tandem. Drop off the kid and ride it home.
Fourth Grade would be ~10, right? And it's a mile? In mid-afternoon, traffic shouldn't be an issue. I'd say work on your wife to let him ride home. (And I'm a mom....)
That's a good idea. Maybe it'll give me incentive for coming up with a way to tow another bike behind mine. Then I could pick it myself on my way home. I think I'll post that query over an Car-Free...
Just tow the bike home after you drop him off.
http://www.trail-gator.com/
Fourth Grade would be ~10, right? And it's a mile? In mid-afternoon, traffic shouldn't be an issue. I'd say work on your wife to let him ride home. (And I'm a mom....)
Afternoon letting-out-of-school traffic can be intimidating and unnerving. Once or twice a week I bike with my 12 yr old daughter 3 miles to her school. Daddy picks her & bike up at the end of school. Yesterday for the first time she & I biked home after school. The traffic was alarming. Before that, I'd been wondering when she'd be ready to make that trip herself (so Daddy wouldn't have to pick her up). Now, I realize it probably won't happen this year. She's had Bike Pro and rides with me around town quite a bit. It's not the 3 miles home, it's the short stretch right in front of her school.
If she wanted to do it, I think I'd ask her to wait until 20 min after school had let out. Traffic is horrible but just for a few minutes, then hardly anything until 5:00.
I don't understand. Is it your son who is intimidated riding home, or just your wife who is intimidated by having your son ride home?
It's not the 3 miles home, it's the short stretch right in front of her school.
Hmm. Maybe she could walk it off of school grounds, then start riding?
Just guessing here.
Hmm. Maybe she could walk it off of school grounds, then start riding?
Just guessing here.
Funny, my husband came up with the same solution. There's a big park that takes up the rest of the block on the school side of the street. She can go through the park, cross the next street at the crosswalk as a pedestrian, and then get in the bike lane.
...I have a 4th grader who would love to ride his bike to school, only about a mile, and I could ride with him in the morning, but he gets out in mid-afternoon while I am still at work. His mom doesn't trust him to ride home by himself yet...
Gotcha.
You're a good man, John. Maybe she'll be happy to let you ride with him on weekends. That would be a great experience for him, maybe life-changing.
The rest will take care of itself, eh?
As far as I know, every car - student accident or incident any child has ever had on the way to or from our school has been kids being dropped off or picked up in cars either right after or right before school. Many kids have even been nearly hit by their own parents.
What happens is the child sees the parent in the car and instantly feels the imperative to run toward it. Of course, it doesn't help that the parent is often yelling at the child from the window of the car to hurry up (after all, they've been sitting in traffic for the last 20 minutes).
My principal even conceded that a child probably has less of a chance getting in an accident if they walk or bike to school than if they get dropped off or picked up by their parents.
Our school also has a rule about bikes that they are to walk them until they are clear of the school.
As far as I know, every car - student accident or incident any child has ever had on the way to or from our school has been kids being dropped off or picked up in cars either right after or right before school. Many kids have even been nearly hit by their own parents.
What happens is the child sees the parent in the car and instantly feels the imperative to run toward it. Of course, it doesn't help that the parent is often yelling at the child from the window of the car to hurry up (after all, they've been sitting in traffic for the last 20 minutes).
My principal even conceded that a child probably has less of a chance getting in an accident if they walk or bike to school than if they get dropped off or picked up by their parents.
Our school also has a rule about bikes that they are to walk them until they are clear of the school.
Telling.
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