The cameras of around 40,000 school buses help identify and punish people who illegally halt the bus. Penalties can be strict.
Keeping Students Safe: A Guide to Bus Stop Safety
The Idaho Act makes it clear when a driver has to stop on a school bus.
Scripps News -Kivi Boise
The stop arm is expanded. The light will flash. The bus will be stopped. The children disembark.
But then something goes wrong.
Drivers in other lanes will not stop. Or one of the back of the buses gets impatient and tries to pass.
It can end in tragedy, as happened in the 2018 crash crash in Rochester, Indiana. A 9-year-old girl, her brother, and six-year-old twins were killed, while an 11-year-old child was seriously injured.
Such a horrifying crash is why the state has a long history of large penalties for those who illegally pass school buses. Currently, around two dozen states and 40,000 bus technology helps identify and punish offenders.
In all 50 US states, it is illegal for a driver to extend the stopped arm and pass a stopped school bus with the lights flashing, with the driver coming from behind the bus. This is just one illegal way to put your child at risk. Penalties include $1,000 fines, licence suspensions and points in many states, even for initial crimes.
However, data shows that thousands of drivers ignore risks every day. Here’s what you need to know.
It is dangerous to illegally pass a stopped school bus.
From 2000 to 2023, there were 61 fatal collisions involving drivers illegally passing through school buses during the shutdown, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (Federal agencies point out that school buses are still statistically the safest way to transport children.)
The National School Transport Association (NSTA) cited a day-long investigation of 114,000 school bus drivers, asking them to report any violations they witnessed. Drivers reported more than 67,000 violations in just one day, and the organization concluded that “drivers have illegally passed school buses millions of times nationwide, with the risk of injuries and deaths being heavily dependent on children.”
What are the penalties?
The penalty for extending the stop arm and passing through the school bus with the lights activated varies depending on the condition. Some, including Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, and Delaware, apply six points to offender driver’s licenses. (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Vermont, Florida, Michigan and Nebraska will also add points of violation.)
Passing a school bus illegally can be costly, even in a more literal sense. It is a part of the state that fines up to $1,000 for first crimes in states, including Arkansas, California, Tennessee and Hawaii. Penalties are even more severe when a driver causes injury or death, including higher fines, felony charges and imprisonment.
This is where to stop for the school bus
Laws vary from state to state, but some rules have broad agreement.
On a typical two-lane road, when the school bus activates the red flash light and extends the stop arm, the driver going in both directions must stop. The driver behind the bus will also have to wait (as necessary) when the school bus stops completely at the railway intersection.
On roads, drivers must be split by barriers, median or other physical barriers, and drive in the same direction as the bus to stop.
However, some states have additional rules about when and where drivers need to be stopped, so drivers need to be aware of local laws.
NSTA Executive Director Curt Macysyn admitted he was a bit envious of the “click or ticket” campaign, which convinced drivers of the importance of seat belts.
“The same thing is needed, especially as the kids are back in school,” Maisin said.
Macysyn provided several reasons why people drive school buses illegally. It is ignorance, distraction, or simply rushing over the laws of their locality.
Technology used to crack down on offenders
The Virginia-based bus patrol, working with school districts and law enforcement in 22 states, is equipped with approximately 40,000 buses for stopped weapons. Goal: We hope to identify offenders, hold them accountable and prevent them from becoming repeatedly criminals. It is a leading provider of stop arm cameras in the country with a market share of around 90%.
The company uses artificial intelligence to identify owners of vehicles that illegally pass buses. Once law enforcement officials reviewed the footage and determined whether a violation occurred, explained Steve Lan Dazzo, the chief growth officer of the Bus Patrol. Bus Patrols handle administrative tasks for each jurisdiction, such as mailing tickets, collecting payments (paying to technology), and help schedule court hearings for disputes.
Since 2017, when the company began equipping its camera buses, bus patrols discovered that 90% of offenders do not repeat the crime, Randazzo said. Before the technology is deployed, the company will work with the community to raise awareness, hold forums to determine where it is needed most, and meet with school staff and PTAs.
“Then community members can use the data to make changes,” he said. “We may add illuminated road signs, move bus stops to safer locations, and strengthen law enforcement patrols in certain areas.”
“There are a lot of people who are distracted,” he added. “Their phones are heads in the clouds… even our cars are designed to distract you. You basically have iPads in many cars.
“Look, we know that kids will become kids, they become stupid and they trust the bus to keep them safe.
In Las Vegas, Tracy Brown May, a member of the Nevada Legislature, worked to get exceptions to the state’s ban on traffic cameras so that bus patrol technology could be added to school buses. Brown May represents around 74,000 Las Vegas residents and as a bicycle and working with disabled adults, she understands how the city built with drivers poses risks to pedestrians, especially children.
“I watched thousands of kids go to school every day, and I watched violations every day,” she said, adding that long, straight, wide roads in the city usually have a speed limit of 45 mph, and drivers often exceed that.
“We have to slow traffic,” she says, partnering with bus patrols to add cameras, “There’s a reason (the driver) will be slower.”
Macysyn, along with the NSTA, said the technology is “not a panacea,” and believes it could become part of a multifaceted approach.
“The best solution I see is a highly visible enforcement campaign,” he said. Officers parked near the bus stop, but admitted that many municipalities do not have the resources to post police every morning and afternoon.
“The toolbox requires a lot of tools,” he said. “But this issue is largely dependent on the masses of the car.”
