A video that shows a school bus driving over wet concrete in an active construction zone has gone viral.
The video, originally from TikTok, was shared in Reddit's "Idiots in Cars" forum on Wednesday by an anonymous poster under the username, u/Markantonpeterson. It has garnered 50,000 upvotes and nearly 2,000 comments from Redditors cracking jokes about the situation.
According to Michigan-based radio station WLHT-FM, the bus in question was a Southfield Public Schools bus.
In the clip, the bus driver tears through the construction zone, completely destroying the road's freshly-laid, wet concrete. The zone's workers yell at the driver but the driver doesn't stop or slow down. Instead, they weave through various traffic cones and eventually make it to the opposite end of the construction zone.
It's not clear if there were any children on board at the time.
"I hate people," someone says from behind the camera as they survey the damage done to the road.
"Me, too," someone else agrees.
According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA), school buses are "the safest vehicle[s] on the road."
"Students are about 70 times more likely to get to school safely when taking a bus instead of traveling by car. That's because school buses are the most regulated vehicles on the road; they're designed to be safer than passenger vehicles in preventing crashes and injuries; and in every state, stop-arm laws protect children from other motorists," the NHTSA explained.
"Although four to six school-age children die each year on school transportation vehicles, that's less than one percent of all traffic fatalities nationwide," the NHTSA continued.
Still, some Michiganders worried that the driver from Wednesday's video posed a safety risk to the district's schoolchildren. In fact, one Facebook commenter named Steven Rise called for the driver's termination.
"I think a certain driver needs to be released because they obviously don't care about the safety of the students by driving through a closed construction zone," Rise said.
In response, Southfield Public Schools said the driver has "been released."
"Southfield Public Schools is aware of the incident involving this bus driver. Upon learning of the incident, the District immediately contacted our transportation partner/the employer, First Student. Southfield Public Schools and First Student understands the gravity of the situation and the driver of the bus has been released. Collectively, we are committed to ensuring our students and staff, while in our care, are delivered to and from school safely. Thank you," the district wrote.
Newsweek has reached out to Southfield Public Schools for additional comment.
Several other Facebook commenters also took issue with the driver's stunt. Redditors, meanwhile, thought it was funny.
"The wheels on the bus go round and round. Nothing there about stopping," wrote u/AdMore3461.
"Them kids got to get to school," said u/rawsterdam.
"If anything, this shows how versatile a school bus is lol," commented u/InspectorMrBurns.
"Ms. Frizzle doesn't give a f**k," added u/ThatPizzaAlien, in reference to The Magic School Bus.
More serious school bus accidents have been in the news recently. The Albuquerque Police Department (APD) recently released terrifying footage that shows the moment a street racer struck a school bus carrying 23 children. Last month, a school bus carrying 24 kids "rolled over" in a crash in Michigan.
And sadly, in February, a Minneapolis bus driver was shot in the head while driving with kids on board.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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