Giving all the busses toilets, would be cost prohibitive. Perhaps a cheapo chemical toilet like that found on a small fishing boat, could be locked in a box in the back of the bus. If an emergency arose, the driver couls pull over, unlock the box and let the kid use it behind a curtain or some thing. Then a note is sent to the parents, telling them to make sure the little booger eater has relieved him or herself before getting on the bus in future.

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SamDamnit!
ALL SEEING, BENEVOLENT
KING LORD GOD ALMIGHTY
OF THE ENTIRE INTERNET
http://www.myspace.com/saintcarnivean

I feel like this bus driver should be commended. Chances are Cameron told the driver that the Daniel was his friend, and so the driver felt comfortable letting him off there. (And according to the Bush Administration, bus drivers know all the evildoers on their routes anyway -- she probably knew Daniel's parents were home and were good people.)

Fact is, without this driver's generosity -- she went out of her way to return to pick Daniel up -- we'd have a kid with a pair of poopy pants. She saved Cameron from growing up and submitting one of those the-moment-I-became-a-Shameful-Shitter stories to PoopReport.

I agree with Dave 100%. Parents who spend so much time brainwashing their kids that anybody they don't know is evil is a growing phenomenon that we can thank the media and certain elected leaders for. Rather than using this opportunity to thank the parent who provided the facilities for the little guy and using it as a chance to meet new people and enrich her life and her childs she chose to turn it into a negative episode, I pity her poor child being raised by such a paranoid ass. The poor bus driver tried to do the right thing and got burned, I bet if she had let the kid shit himself she would have been blamed as well because she should have found a restroom for him.

I don't know, guys. This kid could easily have grown up to be the "I'm a serial killer because I was molested in a strangers potty" kind of adult. I say the driver should have gone in to the house with the kid.

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SamDamnit!
ALL SEEING, BENEVOLENT
KING LORD GOD ALMIGHTY
OF THE ENTIRE INTERNET
http://www.myspace.com/saintcarnivean

I'm sure the bus driver had awesome intentions, but it just didn't work out properly. I really don't know what to think about the whole ordeal. I guess I would need a bit more information. Me.....opinionless for once!

Miracles do happen

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Have a Crappy Day!! Poop Shooter!

Sam, bus drivers are forbidden by law to leave their busses with other children on board. What else can you do? If your near you bus garage, you could take them there, which I did once. I've heard of drivers sending kids into McD's or someplace like it. (older kids of course) I'd be more comfortable with sending little Johnny into Susie's house than a fast food joint. I'd ask the parent who owned the house first, though.

The other alternative- using his/her Fruit of the Looms as a thunder mug-isn't an acceptable alternative. Accidents happen, of course, but it's not appropriate to force a kid to have one! Bodily waste is a good source of infectious pathogens, and you don't want all those kids sitting back there with THAT do ya? Besides, cleaning up your own or you own child's shit is one thing, cleaning up a strange kid's is just NASTY.

Hm...It's not like the bus driver let the kid off at Jeffrey Dahmer's place. It was the home of another student's parents. I agree with the Stinkmeister that they should have asked the parents of the other kid if allowing little Cameron to use their facility was ok.
I also think that the chemical port-a-potty idea is a good one. Especially for long field trips. And the teachers, particularly those who are over 40, would thank you too. Take it from me, many of us past a certain age start losing the ability to contain ourselves. In my case, holding Old #2 back isn't usually a problem, but #1 tends to be a little more difficult to contend with these days. When I've got to pee, there better be a bathroom close at hand or there could be trouble!

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Have a crappy day!
La Petomaine

But WHY wouldn't the driver *WAIT* for the kid?!? HE'S ONLY FOUR! It was a good plan; the driver may have known the other kid's parents were nice, whatever. But I can't believe HE DROVE AWAY, especially with the kid's big sister still on the bus! And why didn't the big sister get to escort him WITH the resident kid, to get him back to the bus? I have kids, and I would *probably* be okay with an emergency stop at a fellow-school-family's house, but I'd send another kid in to bring the kid back, and I WOULDN'T DRIVE AWAY! That was the stupid part, in my opinion.

I would not suggest potties on the bus; the kids can't walk around when it's moving, and you just KNOW, if the driver had to wait at stops for potty breaks, the kids would NEVER get home (although...come to think of that...hmmmn...)

The answer is still the good old, "Go before you go."

I suggest people think a bit before they reply here. This child was allowed to use the toilet at anouther childs home. Ghee would you as a parnet not let a child use your wash room. I would rather than he poop or pee his pants. And far better he use the wash room in anouther childs home than a public one. BUT the bus driver should have stayed with him. Thats the negitive part here.

Well, I don't think the bus driver did anything rong. If the driver made the kid shit his pants the mom woult be like why the fuck wouldent you let my kid go take a shit. its a lose-lose situation.

I think we as Americans should get our heads out of our asses and realize that we are growing into a society of pussy's. heres a guy who did the right thing, saved that boy certain embarassment that could scar him for life, went out of his way to help a child in need, and what does he get? docked a weeks pay! that ungrateful mother should jump off a cliff. thank you for your forum.

Reminds me of a certain story where a certain someone was docked a week's pay.

This is not a hard one. GGG has it about right--since the child had a big sister on the bus, why didn't the driver stop, wait on Sis to take little pissmeier to the pot, and then go on?

Worst case scenario--let Sis get off the bus with little pissmeier and let him "inspect the tires," as we used to call it in a more refined era. Nobody is going to arrest a four-year-old for indecent exposure if he has to pee on the side of the road. If the child were vomiting, nobody would hesitate to stop the bus and get him off; this is conceptually no different.

I say this whole thing is an issue of lack of funding in the school system. At one of my elementary schools, the only one to which I rode a school bus, we had bus aides who rode on board for just this sort of incident. They took care of little emergencies occurring on the bus, watched to make sure the kids weren't dancing all over the seats and like, and generally kept the bus in order. A bus aide, unlike the driver, is able to leave the bus when there are children on board. Unfortunately, with funding cuts, such a luxury on buses with young kids is a thing of the past.

Oh, my!! I drive a school bus myself, and I must say, that the driver letting the student off the bus for ANY reason is appalling! Before releasing the student onto the bus, it is the responsibility of the parent (before school) or teacher (after school) to make sure the student -- especially a 4-year-old -- has already used the restroom. The law states that a student is the driver's (and solely the driver-- not the bus aide) responsibility begins and ends the moment the driver can recognize the student at the bus stop. If the student absolutely MUST use the restroom, the driver is to call into dispatch and get approval from their supervisor to alter their route to take THAT student home next, no exceptions. And if there was an "accident" the bus is equipped with a body fluid clean up kit that the driver (and most bus aides) are trained to use. Most likely the dispatchers would get another driver to complete the route while the driver returns to the yard. I have a heart and a passion for the students that I transport, but you cannot take risks! Parents can and will take action if the slightest problem occurs involving their child. The driver's job and certificate is at stake. I, personally believe that a harsher punishment should take place. We have had driver's fired or put on paid administrative leave for less. Bottom line is that driver should know that letting that student off the bus at a stop that was not his legal designated stop, regardless of circumstance (except like a fire on the bus), is against ANY policy in the country.. Way too risky!