I'm going to keep this clean, but feel free to drop the f-bomb in various places to fully understand my mood right now.

I was sitting next to a school bus this afternoon when I started hearing things bouncing off the car, at first I thought it was some loose gravel or something on the road being kicked up by passing cars, but no it was stuff being thrown from the school bus next to me.

Now I have a fairly large dent in the roof of the Jag X-Type. The car was completely dent and scratch free until today. It's also British Racing Green, so it's quite noticeable. I am so pissed off, I called the transportation department and they are going to make an announcement to the drivers to watch for it. Next time they pull this, I'm sure they will get caught and suspended.

What the (good insertion point) are they thinking? I hope they all rot in hell...

__________________
Adam Lumsden
(83) 300D
Vice-President of the MBCA International Stars Section

The result of substandard parenting, no doubt.

Sorry about your car, Adam. That really sucks.

__________________
" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

Did you get the bus number by chance? I'd call the in and report it to the school.

__________________
1994 C 280 117.5k, White (Good as new)
1997 Toyota Camry 149k Miles (Not so pretty anymore)

1990 190e 2.6 95k (Sold-Should not have)
1981 240d Stick ??? Miles...sold

Adam, contact the school and let them know what happened. Something similar happened to my step-father and lo and behold they contacted the school and the little Sh&* got into big trouble.

__________________
"It's normal for these things to empty your wallet and break your heart in the process."
2012 SLK 350
1987 420 SEL

I hate trying to get money out of taxpayer-funded organizations, but if it were my car I think I might ask the school to pay for any repairs.

I mean, if rocks fell off the gravel truck (yeah, they have the "not liable for windshields" thing here too, but their stupid sign has no bearing on the law)
they'd have to pay you for it (at least, in Indiana they would) because whatever come out of or off of your vehicle is your responsibility (and, more relevantly, your liability).

If you plan too turn it in to your insurance company, you should definitely explain the situation to them and see if they'll go after the school. That might change the school's response of "gee, tough luck" to "we're gonna find these kids and make them pay damages".

Honestly, screw the Transportation Department's response of "oops! we'll tell the drivers to watch for it". If a bus driver had backed into your Jag, would they have given you that kind of response? It's the same thing, IMHO. If the bus driver doesn't notice this sort of thing (my mom was a school bus driver, I guarantee she would have noticed) then maybe they shouldn't be a bus driver. I mean, what if a kid stuck his arm out while the bus was going by a sign or tree? That would truly be awful.

Kids will be kids, and they should be hollered at for it (as well as their parents made to pay), but the school corporation has a responsibility to hire drivers who can care for these kids (which includes making sure the kids and all their body parts remain inside the bus).


Bluntly, the Transportation Dept is being very lazy here. They know (roughly) what bus is at what location at a given time of day. Some buses also have assigned seating, so they might even have an idea of which kids it was.

Much like the kids won't think this is a big deal unless they get scolded, the school won't think it's a big deal if they don't have to make any effort to rectify the situation. At the very least, I'd go get a "free" repair estimate and then call them to ask if they plan to write you a check. The school buses are insured, and that's what insurance is for.

__________________
'88 300SE | Midnight Blue | 237k
'09 Subaru Impreza | red | 0k

In VA, that's a felony. I would def take it up with the school/transportation company.

In MO, insurance companies have historically looked at the age of the kids to determine liability...a 7 year old couldn't form intent, but a 13 year old should know better. There are no hard and fast rules. Also in MO, debris coming off your vehicle is your responsibility, so if a truck is hauling gravel and it hits cars, there is liability there, but if you run over something on the road and your vehicle kicks it up on another car, you are not liable.

__________________
2002 Ford ZX2
2 x 2013 Honda Civics

The third sentence is pretty close to a universal rule. Most states are self-insured and the school system would be a political subdivision, so if you have a claim, generally you must report it to your state's tort-claim or similar board within a certain # of days of the incident/occurance. They will either pay the claim, or if they deny it, you will then have the right to sue (I know, its just a dent--just illustrating a point). My experience with reporting claims such as yours is that they will pay it if there was a corroborating witness, because if not, they will have to bill out an Asst. AG or private contracted attorney to defend which will cost more than the repair.

If it was a private school, just call the school and put their carrier on notice.

Good luck.

X100 !!

__________________
1980 300D - Veggie Burner !

We had a somewhat similar situation here. The lesson learned by the car owner was something like this....

BTW - I know this wont help your situation now, but for anyone else finding themselves in a like situation:

If you’re sitting next to a bus….You hear something hit your roof hard enough to leave a dent….You realize that it’s coming from the bus… Why the hell would you start thinking about contacting the transportation company and/or school at some later time?

The situation must be addressed as if you just had an accident with the bus. (in a sense, you did) You stop the bus right then and there (If not there. At its next safe stop.), just as you would with any other situation with any other vehicle rendering damage to either vehicle. You tell the bus driver what just happened. He is responsible for what happens on his bus. Including the actions of those on it which may render damage to those around it. The child’s parents are responsible as well. So why wait until there is virtually no chance that you will find out who the little sh-t is that made the dent?

You stop the bus. (BTW - Depending on where you are, you may not be allowed on the bus. So what?) You have the driver confront the kids. If nobody talks, you get numerous names (they may have to stay in the hands of the driver until he provides them to the school), and then you will at least have something to go with when you contact the transportation department and the school. It’s also important that you have the driver look at the damage to your car. Especially if it’s obvious that it just happened (dirt residue, etc.) He is to be kept in the loop until everything is settled.

You should get a police report on file, just like with any other accident. Your insurance company will more than likely want one.

There is nothing wrong with demanding that the school investigate the situation and provide either you or the police with the parents info if determined.

__________________
1980 300D - Veggie Burner !

I'd hang the little effer

Reminds me of the night I graduated from high school. All the parents coughed up $$ for the school bus to take us around that night - bowling, minature golf, etc. The idea was that we would all be together and no one would be driving drunk.

It was a great plan, we pulled out of the school parking lot around 10pm. At the first stop light, one of the girls threw an empty beer can out the window onto the deputy's car in the next lane. I will never forget the look on that deputy's face as long as I live.

If you don't deal with this, you have just become part of the problem IMHO.

It wasn't until I got home I found the damage. It really didn't sound like much, it was probably pennies. The bus was going straight and I was turning left. Around here the left turn goes first. There's no way I could have seen the bus number.

I'm not going to have it fixed, it's noticeable to me, but it's not "that" bad. The body shop will probably screw more up fixing the dent then its worth. This is just a lose-lose situation. I don't believe in karma or such things. But I'm resting assured knowing those are the kids who will be lifelong trouble-makers and will continue to get busted down the line.

__________________
Adam Lumsden
(83) 300D
Vice-President of the MBCA International Stars Section

No offense, but I would recommend against this practice, as in my jurisdiction, a civilian stopping a school bus with kids on it would rack up an arm long list of charges

btw, have you checked out my pond thread? I gots to get to the co-op