What’s Our Policy and Why it‘s Better

In the previous sections of our board, we have shown the deadly effects of bus idling and the laws against it that don’t work. Now we will present you with a policy that does work. Our proposed policy will fine the bus drivers $100-1,000 for idling beyond 1min. in areas “100 ft within the defined school zone… en route to a bus stop, stopped at a bus stop, or on a trip” and beyond 45 sec. “at their warehouse or parking lot” (with the police patrolling them). This law has many advantages, few disadvantages, and is constitutional.

Our proposed bill has many advantages, like the fact that if the bus companies refuse to alert their drivers and/or try to bribe them to idle like Muhammad’s, a 5th grader, driver was. The reason is doing so would result in $2,000 in fines. Also, our policy will cause the bus drivers to not want to break the law because as the average driver earns $36,500 a year, the maximum fine, $1,000, is about ⅓ of their salary. Even the minimum fine, $100, is 1/30 of their salary. This law is also fair, as §3 of our policy states:

Penalties are as Follows:
1st warning: A warning, Bus drivers must not idle again, Bus name and number written down in log by the officer on patrol, who interviews the driver. If he/she isn’t aware of current laws and/or the driver is being bribed to idle, the company which he/she works for is fined $2000.*
2nd Warning: Bus Drivers are fined $200 for violating the law (no idling for more than 1min.).
3rd Warning: Bus Drivers are fined $500-1000, depending on where they are; a strike is recorded on their Drivers License; and a letter is sent to the bus company informing them about the Bus Driver’s Actions.*

*information is stored on police site. Money is used to buy the auxiliary heater as stated in §5, and anything extra goes to help us plant trees and clean up the environment.

This proves our law has many advantages.

Subsequently, our law has few disadvantages. A disadvantage is that the auxiliary heater will cost $80. However, the money will be collected from donations and fines so the companies and bus drivers won’t have to pay. Another disadvantage is that it will take time to collect donations, but 1 minute is plenty of time to warm up while we wait. These disadvantages are also not as bad as the facts that the drivers can idle while boarding with current laws and if the engine temperature is lower than 40, they can idle for 30 min.!

Furthermore, our bill is agrees with the Constitution. Our policy does not regulate that the bus drivers’ and companies’ freedoms, such as the fact that we don’t say that they cannot speak, form protest groups, or write against our law. The law also isn’t directed against a specific race or hieratical group. To add on, the drivers cannot be fined without evidence, so the bus drivers can’t complain that we’re fining them without evidence.

In summary, our policy is better than what is already out there. Our proposed bill has many advantages, few disadvantages, and agrees with America’s Constitution. If bus idling shall be stopped, this is how we should stop it!

Bibliography

We would like to give thanks to the following websites:

· http://www.google.com– for assisting us in searching!

· http://www.dogpile.com– a great search engine!

· http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_money_does_a_bus_driver_earn– for telling us how much a bus driver earns!

· http://wordpress.com– for assisting us in creating our website!

· http://www.epa.gov/smartway/documents/420b06004.pdf– for telling us what we shouldn’t do!

We would also like to thank the following people:

· Ms. Sable, Asst. Principle—for letting us interview her!

· The Lunch Aids—for giving their time to be interviewed!


-GS