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Bus Stop Danger; Hype Builds for "Snakes on a Plane"

Aired April 14, 2006 - 10:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, talking about kids now. And people actually put kids at risk every day and they don't even realize it. We're talking about drivers who blow by school bus stop signs. Who are these potential killers? It's going surprise you.
Consumer reporter Greg Hunter has the story. It first aired on "PAULA ZAHN NOW."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GREG HUNTER, CNN CONSUMER CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's one of the biggest your dangers your child faces every day, getting on or off a school bus. Traffic is required, by law, to wait, but, too often, people drive right by a stopped bus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a chance for a child to die.

HUNTER: Peter Minella (ph) heads an association of school bus operators in New York state.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We estimate, 50,000 times a day, in our state alone, people pass school buses when they're stopped to let off kids.

HUNTER (on camera): Every day?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every day.

HUNTER (voice-over): School transportation say, millions of motorists nationwide pass buses illegally.

Look at this video from Maryland, and North Carolina. You won't believe what we saw when we followed this bus in Long Island, New York, for just one day.

(on camera): You know, that police officer says you shouldn't even be driving.

(voice-over): Police say, a growing number of drivers don't see or blatantly ignore school buses stop signs, making a split-second decision that can lead to a lifetime of pain.

In February, when Gloria Woodson rushed to this accident near her Saint Louis home, she knew something terrible had happened.

GLORIA WOODSON, MOTHER: I'm still thinking, that's somebody else's child laying on the ground, not knowing it was mine. HUNTER: Woodson's 6-year-old son, Aaron, had just step off his school bus and was crossing the street, when police say a truck drove around the bus and hit the first-grader, knocking him into the air, as his classmates watched in horror.

Police found the truck a few blocks away and say the driver, 28- year-old Ronald Brown, not only left Aaron lying in the street. He asked his girlfriend to tell investigators the vehicle had been stolen.

COLONEL JOSEPH MOKWA, SAINT LOUIS POLICE CHIEF: I think it's somebody that is totally irresponsible, self-centered. And you have to question their humanity.

HUNTER: Brown pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and leaving the scene. His attorney declined our request for an interview, but says it was an accident, that his client is not criminally responsible.

Aaron, one of the Woodson family's 12 children, died at the scene of massive injuries.

(on camera): That's got to be one of the saddest moments of your life, as a mama.

WOODSON: Yes. Broke my heart.

HUNTER (voice-over): But tragedies like this aren't unusual.

Statistics collected since 1970 found that, nationwide, passing vehicles have killed more than 400 children boarding or exiting their school bus.

(on camera): What goes through your mind when somebody runs a stop arm?

DEREK GRAHAM, PRESIDENT-ELECT, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STATE DIRECTORS OF PUPIL TRANSPORTATION SERVICES: What were you thinking?

HUNTER (voice-over): Derek Graham, president-elect of the nation's school bus transportation director, says, with more traffic and so many driving distractions, many people aren't paying attention, or are in too much of a hurry to heed flashing warning lights.

GRAHAM (voice-over): They see that amber light on the school bus just like the yellow light on a traffic signal, and they want to try to beat the light, beat the bus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a common thing. Yes, I see it all time.

HUNTER: Hank Drum (ph) has a school buses driver in Long Island, New York, for eight years.

We wanted to see what bus drivers encounter on a typical day. So, we wired Hank's (ph) bus with cameras and rode with local police, who follow buses to catch violators. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of traffic on this highway.

HUNTER: When a bus has amber lights flashing, that means slow down. Once the lights turn red, traffic is required to stop. Some drivers did just that, stopping well in front of the bus. Others hit the brakes just in time. But watch what happened here. Instead of slowing down, this SUV went right by the bus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I stopped you because you passed a school bus there.

HUNTER: In New York, the penalties for illegally passing are stiff, five points on a driver's license, a $250 fine, and up to 30 days in jail.

(on camera): Did you see the school bus lights flashing?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did see it, but the lights were yellow, so I thought it was safe to still keep proceeding.

GRAHAM: When you see a soccer ball roll in front of your car, what do you do? You immediately hit the brakes. Now, why can't we develop that same kind of reaction around a school bus?

HUNTER: Did you know that, when you pass a stopped school bus, you could, like, hit a kid and kill them?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I -- I -- I really did not -- I really, really did not mean to do anything, I swear to God.

(LAUGHTER)

HUNTER: Yes. Do you know how serious that is?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I do.

I did not see any...

HUNTER (voice-over): The officer gave her a ticket, as she tearfully apologized. This driver should have known better. It turns out she's a teacher.

But our day was just beginning. In the afternoon, as the bus unloaded a child, we saw this white car turn right anyway -- behind the wheel, another apologetic driver.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a retired elementary school principal. That's the -- absolutely the -- the -- if I saw someone do that in front of my school, I would chase them down myself.

HUNTER: But it kept happening. On this busy road, another school bus passed the bus, along with seven other vehicles in both directions, too many for the officer to safely pull over.

And then there was this car that blew right past the stop arm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was one of the most blatant ones that I have seen in eight years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I didn't see a stop sign out.

HUNTER (on camera): It was out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, if you say it was out.

HUNTER: Does that bother you, that you didn't see a flashing stop sign?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God. Are you kidding me, sir? Sir, are you kidding me? I'm trying to get to work. I don't have time for your questions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you miss a vehicle that size? It's big and yellow, and it's flashing at you, and waving red stop signs.

HUNTER (voice-over): Peter Minella (ph), who represents New York school buses operators, questions the ability of drivers who pass illegally.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you feel comfortable getting behind the wheel, when you did that?

HUNTER (on camera): Do you question your driving ability, not seeing something like that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not passing my driving ability. My driving ability is quite fine.

HUNTER (voice-over): Well, not exactly. The officer says he doesn't even have a driver's license, only a learner's permit, requiring him to be with a licensed driver.

(on camera): You know, the police officer says you shouldn't even be driving.

(voice-over): He didn't drive anymore. The officer ticketed him and made him leave the car.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

HUNTER: Some school districts are putting cameras on buses, like we did.

In Iowa, a school camera caught 40 drivers in six months.

(on camera): So, how does this technology work? Well, it's pretty simple. If you approach a school bus and a stop arm is out, you're supposed to stop. But, if you don't, and the bus has cameras like this one, it catches you coming and going, including my license plate.

(voice-over): These digital images can be retrieved on a computer and e-mailed to police. Schools in North Carolina are trying to make buses more noticeable. Compare this bus to one with new electronic lights and signs.

But some say, tougher laws are needed to change driver behavior.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People lose children for lots of reasons, unfortunately. And this doesn't have to be one of them.

HUNTER: North Carolina lawmaker Dale Falwell (ph) and his wife, Cynthia (ph), lost their son Dalton (ph) in 1999. The 7-year-old was hit in front of their home as he tried to board his bus.

(on camera): What happened to the person that hit your son?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She received 100 hours of community service, after she killed our child.

HUNTER: Did she ever spend a day in jail?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She did not.

HUNTER (voice-over): Falwell (ph) sponsored a state law making it a felony to injure a child by illegally passing. He hopes to prevent other families from suffering the same fate.

Near Aaron Woodson's home, this shrine now marks the place where he died coming home from school, a roadside reminder of the consequences of not stopping for a school bus.

Greg Hunter, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Be sure to join Paula Zahn weeknights at 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific, here on CNN.

There they are. Well, there they are. The proud new mom and pop, and if you look closely, you can see their new baby bobbing in the nest. The bald eagle chick is four and a half inches long, weighs only a few ounces. The family lives on California's Channel Islands. That's that's like Catalina, for those of you not familiar with southern California. The chick is the first born there without human help in a half century, and there's even more good news. The mom-to- be appears to be guarding an egg in a nest around the block.

Our animal oddities continue. First, a lizard with two tails. A farmer in northern Malaysia made the find. He has adopted the creature as a pet. And in Southern Malaysia, a homeowner found this toad peeking out of a train. It boasts a tail nearly 16 inches long. This little guy or girl is going to be released back into the jungle.

So talk of bunnies. If they don't do it for you this Easter weekend, then the real thing just might. How about baby bunnies? They are born at a dizzying pace. As luck would have it, they are up for adoption. That story coming up. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Cute, cuddly and a little too busy. A few dozen rabbits living in a backyard in Nevada did -- well, you know what bunnies do, and they multiplied and quickly. Now there's more than a thousand of them producing about 40 babies a day. An animal group is rescuing the rabbits, and Paul Tharp with Best Friends Great Bunny Rescue joins me from Reno, Nevada with two of his fuzzy friends.

Paul, good morning.

PAUL THARP, BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY: Good morning.

KAGAN: First, let's give you some kudos here. You came with two buns and no bunny wrangler. So you are a brave man today.

PAUL: Thanks.

KAGAN: And I understand these two little guys weren't really getting along this morning.

THARP: Well, they will. It's just easier if you don't try to control two at once.

KAGAN: You know, I'm going to take it from an expert on bunnies. Let's go back to the beginning. This all started with somebody's good intentions in trying to keep a few rabbits in their backyard, but they didn't really do it in the right way.

THARP: Well, it just got a little out of control, and this is the results.

KAGAN: No spay and neuter makes for bunny, bunny, bunny, bunny.

THARP: It does.

KAGAN: Absolutely.

THARP: So the bunny rescue program comes in. Tell me what you're trying to do here.

KAGAN: So far we've rescued about 1,200 rabbits, and this is the largest animal rescue since Katrina.

THARP: And the idea is, one, one separate the boys from the girls. I know we're doing biology 101 here, but...

KAGAN: That's the first step, but kind of hard to keep up with that. And really there are about 40 baby rabbits being born every day?

THARP: Yes, ma'am.

KAGAN: And so what are you doing?

THARP: Well, we're trying to get them spayed and neutered as fast as we can, and we are keeping them separated out. KAGAN: Now this video we're looking at of people catching rabbits with nets. So those thousand rabbits that you found, they were running free or...

THARP: Well, they were all loose in the backyard, but most of them could be coaxed into pens with food.

KAGAN: That's how you catch a rabbit.

THARP: Yes.

KAGAN: But a few you had to get there. And then the idea ultimately is to have people adopt these rabbits?

THARP: Yes, and so far we have 150 adoption applications, and we're always looking for more.

KAGAN: And if people, though, are thinking about getting rabbits all over the country with this being Easter weekend, give me a couple of the tips of how much it takes to care for the bun.

THARP: Well, they have to remember that rabbits aren't a toy, and there is probably up to a 10-year commitment on them, and some of them have special needs. So if they decide they're going to get a rabbit, they should consider adopting instead of buying one. But regardless, they should have the animal spayed or neutered when they do.

KAGAN: Absolutely, and plenty up for adoption in Reno, Nevada. Paul Tharp with the Great Bunny Rescue, thank you.

THARP: Thank you.

KAGAN: And thanks to your two bunny buddies that you brought along this morning as well.

THARP: All right, thanks.

KAGAN: Appreciate it. Thank you.

Snakes on a plane. It is all over the Web. It's a move that isn't even out yet. Is it a guaranteed hit? We're going to check the buzz, Snakes on a Plane."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: So are ready for just about every bad dream movie rolled into one. We're talking snakes, "Snakes on a Plane." It's a nightmare turning out to be a movie marketer's dream, the film is still months away from release, but it's creating such a huge buzz, or should we say hiss, on the Internet.

Brooke Anderson reported this story for "PAULA ZAHN NOW."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A reptilian thriller is slithering throughout the World Wide Web. It's called "Snakes on a Plane" and legions have been bitten by its campy appeal.

BRIAN FINKELSTEIN, SNAKESONABLOG.COM: It's just -- the title itself is obviously so kind of simple and so audacious, it tells you exactly what you're going to get from the movie from day one.

ANDERSON: "Snakes on a Plane," a movie from New Line Cinema stars Samuel L. Jackson as an FBI agent travelling on a plane full of both passengers and yes, deadly snakes.

Jackson says he was sold on the title alone and that seems to be the consensus of Web-based fans. The film, which isn't scheduled to strike theaters until August, barely has an official Web site. But it's the blogs that have caught the attention of news organizations, including NPR, "The Washington Post," the "Chicago Tribune," and "The Hollywood Reporter."

(SINGING)

ANDERSON: By doing a simple Web search, you can find many fan tributes to "Snakes on a Plane," music videos.

(SINGING)

ANDERSON: Mock film trailers, T-shirts, hats, posters, and comedy routines.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are snakes on the plane and they're biting and they're scaring people.

ANDERSON: The on-line phenomenon was sparked by a blog created by Josh Friedman that featured a made-up line of dialogue for Sam Jackson.

JOSH FRIEDMAN, BLOGGER: There are (BLEEP) on the (BLEEP) plane.

ANDERSON: Before long, snake-a-holics demanded it be included in the film. When New Line reassembled the cast for additional shoots, the expletive-laden line was added, taking the film from PG-13 placement into R-rated territory.

BORYS KIT, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: This is one of the first times that I know of that a studio has gone in to add scenes because of a groundswell of fans clamoring for certain things to be in this movie.

ANDERSON: New Line, owned by Time Warner, which is also the parent company of CNN, says it was not behind the on-line hype for the movie, but it hopes to see it continue.

The studio told CNN, quote, "We're delighted that fans have taken an early interest. We plan to build on the growing buzz over the next few months." To that end, New Line contacted snakes fan and Georgetown University law student Brian Finkelstein about the unofficial marketing he's doing through his Web site, snakesonablog.com.

FINKELSTEIN: All they have said to me is that they are aware of what's happening online, and they heartily endorse it, but they are in no way in control of it. They don't pay me, for example, although I kind of wish they would.

ANDERSON: "Snakes on a Plane" has already lifted off the runway and sunk it's fangs into the Internet, but will it soar to box office heights?

Brooke Anderson, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Bad dreams starting now. You can see Paula 8:00 weeknights, right here on CNN.

Let's talk numbers. Snakes on a market? Well, no. The markets are closed, but our own Susan Lisovicz is still around to talk about some important news for Beatles fans.

SUSAN LISCOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, Daryn, it's not snakes. It's Beatles we're talking about.

KAGAN: Oh!

LISOVICZ: I got that connection.

KAGAN: Oh, I get. Snakes to Beatles!

LISOVICZ: This is a great story, though, Daryn. This is not scary. This is wonderful news. This is validation that digital music has finally become mainstream. The Beatles, the surviving members of the Beatles, have finally agreed to begin selling online downloads of their very famous songs, like the one you're hearing right now, "I Wanna Hold Your Hand." They're also digitally remastering the entire Beatles catalog. You get the connection there? Big sales coup that could happen here.

Beatles, of course, are among the last online holdouts. To get Beatles music now, you probably did, Daryn, what I've done, which is take the CDs and download it yourself. We don't have a date. We're downloading.

The big question, though, is will Apple Core go with Apple's iTunes? The last time we spoke about this -- there is a nasty court battle in London that's taking place over the trademark dispute about the sale of digital music. So there's a lot of details we don't know, but the good news is yes, Beatles legit online coming soon.

KAGAN: How much do they stand to make online, cha ching?

LISOVICZ: You talk about numbers, you talk about big numbers, Daryn, here. Off the charts. People say -- you know, analysts say that the Beatles defy the physics of celebrity worship. Their songs are more popular than ever. They're one of the most illegally- downloaded music right now.

And online music, of course, is just huge. Sales tripled to $1.1 billion last year, and the music industry, of course, needs that kind of lift. And it could also spur other artists, for instance, other holdouts such as Garth Brooks and Led Zeppelin, both of which are not legally available online.

KAGAN: But let's talk about how this is going to sound. Because they are digitally remastering these. So people have this romantic notion of what their Beatles songs are supposed to sound like. Will they sound like it in a digital format?

LISOVICZ: Well, audiophiles say that actually new and improved here actually will be better. It will sound brighter and better, is the word from one analyst. The last time that the Beatles actually remastered their entire collection was 20 years ago. So there's quantum leaps, according to some analysts, in terms of what's been available in technology. Of course, there are the purists, Daryn. I don't know if you're one of them that say vinyl still has...

KAGAN: Hear that pop sound?

LISOVICZ: ... the best sound. Yes. But, you know, you can alternate.

KAGAN: Yes, you can. In fact, I have not downloaded any Beatles. I mean, I have no Beatles on my iPod right now.

LISOVICZ: Oh, Daryn!

KAGAN: I'm Beatles free.

LISOVICZ: Daryn! Daryn.

KAGAN: Susan.

LISOVICZ: Come on, that's an essential.

KAGAN: I'm just having a confessional here. We like to talk about our technology and what we do.

LISOVICZ: I can help you. I can hook you up.

KAGAN: OK. You got some CDs I can borrow?

LISOVICZ: Absolutely.

KAGAN: Got it. OK, but now I'm hearing that you might have to soon start paying taxes on that download.

LISOVICZ: That's right. Didn't the Beatles have a song called "The Taxman."

KAGAN: Yes, exactly. We need to cue that one up.

LISOVICZ: Yes, iTunes tax. I mean, you know, this is coming at a time when so many state budgets are in the red. So what are they doing? They're looking at digital downloads. There's a whole bunch of states that are either doing already -- about 15 is the latest that I've read -- or considering taxing digital purchases of songs and movies.

Why is that? Well, for a while there, it was under the radar, but, guess what? It's an untapped source of new revenue. In my home state, for instance, Governor Corzine has recommended that download taxing begin this October 1st. Of course, taxpayer advocates say we're already being taxed. You get taxed when you connect your Internet to the provider. You also get taxed to buy an iPod. So you're triple taxed.

KAGAN: Right, but if I go into a music store and buy a CD, I'm taxed there, but if I download that same music, I'm not taxed there.

LISOVICZ: That's what the state legislators -- that's the argument the state legislators are going after.

KAGAN: Not like I'm promoting that. Don't send me any angry letters. Susan, I'd ask you about the markets, but we know, day off.

LISOVICZ: You have to wait until Monday.

KAGAN: OK. And I know you'll be there. We're going to talk some more interesting topics still ahead. Thank you.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome, Daryn.

KAGAN: And we're going to take a break. We're back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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