It's the Cell Phone's Fault!!

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by LCanal

It was drummed into us both as youngsters and as "guardians" to wait until the bus has gone before attempting to cross as a stopped bus does not allow a clear view of the traffic and that drivers could not see us if we were hidden behind a vehicle. LCanal

In the US when the bus stops to load/unload, the flashing red lights come on and all traffic stops in both directions. The driver won't shut off the lights allowing traffic to move until any kid they know is going to cross the street has done so.
You make a good point that no matter how much you drum into the kid to look both ways, they get complacent about traffic when the bus is still there. Why bother looking when the traffic is always stopped when they cross.
In this case it was the stupid womans fault but I wonder if the kid even saw her?
I've noticed in my area the bus drivers pulling across the street, effectively blocking all lanes when they're discharging more than 1 or 2 kids.