Can bus driver's smoking be causing ds to wheeze?

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the world's best mom

Mon, Dec 17 2012, 10:25 pm

Ds has special needs and goes to a school in Brooklyn though we don't live there. He has a bus ride of close to 1 1/2 hours each way. There's another kid on his bus who lives a block away from me.

Well, every time the bus comes, they call me that they are here (I don't wait outside anymore because they are totally not punctual). I hurry outside and the driver is always standing outside smoking. He smells like cigarette smoke, so the bus seems to smell as well. I asked the other boy's mother (from a block away) if he smokes at her stop too and she said not always, but often.

For the past 2 nights, ds was coughing and wheezing. If the driver ever smokes on the bus, I would totally blame him. But I wouldn't know if he does or not. Assuming he always leaves the bus to smoke, can the smell alone be causing ds to wheeze? Is there anything I can do to get this situation to stop? Or any way I can find out if he ever smokes on the bus- even when there are no kids on the bus?

greenfire

Mon, Dec 17 2012, 10:28 pm

he should not be allowed to smoke on the bus that he rides kids in ... totally call the company to apprise them of the situation with the wheezing & see what they can do

Bliss

Mon, Dec 17 2012, 10:30 pm

If the kid is sensitive to smoke, it is very possible. But the question is why it didn't happen till now? What has changed?

seeker

Mon, Dec 17 2012, 10:35 pm

It's called thirdhand smoke and is a menace to all, you have a right to ask for this to stop. But if the smoking has been the same all along and the wheezing just started, I wouldn't assume a connection.

the world's best mom

Mon, Dec 17 2012, 10:42 pm

No, this driver just started a couple of weeks after hurricane Sandy. And he had the same wheezing last year when his bus driver and bus stunk like smoke and I complained about it. All that I accomplished was that I got the driver mad. Luckily, that driver had started toward the end of the school year, so we weren't stuck with him for long.

DrMom

Tue, Dec 18 2012, 12:30 am

Can you do anything about it (legally) if the driver is smoking OUTSIDE the bus?

ima_dina084

Tue, Dec 18 2012, 1:35 am

I would think while he's on the job he shouldn't be allowed to smoke even if he is outside the bus ..

Liba

Tue, Dec 18 2012, 4:51 am

My son certainly wheezed from the drivers smoking even though he claimed that he didn't smoke in the van. According to the reports of some of the more verbal kids on the bus the driver was smoking on the van with the window down at least on occasion though...

the world's best mom

Tue, Dec 18 2012, 7:00 am

DrMom wrote:

Can you do anything about it (legally) if the driver is smoking OUTSIDE the bus?

That's my question. I don't think it's illegal for him to smoke outside the bus. But I still don't want my son smelling it for 3 hours a day. Especially if he'll be up wheezing all night from it.

Maybe I can explain the situation to the bus company, making it clear that the driver is not necessarily doing anything wrong, but asking for a driver who doesn't smoke every 2 minutes because my son is very sensitive to the smell?

chocolate moose

Tue, Dec 18 2012, 7:54 am

sure. kids and adults. even later in life.

the world's best mom

Tue, Dec 18 2012, 8:16 am

Today, the bus came very early for some reason. They parked outside my window, so I saw them while I was dressing ds. The driver stood outside smoking, and when he wanted something that was on the bus, he opened the door and leaned in to get it. How is that so much better than sitting on the bus to smoke?

I think I'm going to call the department of pupil transportation to find out exactly what is allowed and what I can do to change the situation.

pelle

Tue, Dec 18 2012, 10:15 am

maybe a note from your dr. to the bus co. stating that even 2nd hand smoke aggravates his breathing and either get a new bus driver or no smoking during work hours? is there an aid on the bus with them who you can ask if the driver smokes with the window down while driving?

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