Transportation Management Software, bus scheduling software, school bus scheduling software, school bus management software
It's sad to say, but one of the biggest threats to student safety during their bus rides is other motorists. If a passing car ignores a bus's lights and stop-arm, they could easily hit a student, especially if the student needs to cross the street.
And this happens far more often than it should. According to a recent massive report (PDF) from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 43 million illegal passings happened between 2022-23. This is a problem that every school transportation department should be aware of.
The Problem Of Illegal Bus Passing
According to the NHTSA report, one of the biggest problems is that laws and penalties vary wildly across the country. Enforcement can be strict or lax. Some states require police to observe the illegal passing, others allow reports from traffic cameras or even bystanders. There are even differences on when a motorist is required to stop, such as whether they have to respect a bus's stop arm while driving on the other side of a divided road.
The result is a patchwork of laws, where perhaps more unified nationwide legislation is called for. Until then, however, it will largely be on school districts to help themselves, or lobby their state governments for more effective laws and enforcement.
Things You Can Do To Improve Student Safety
1 - Add stop arm cameras, if possible
If your state allows for camera-based reports of illegal passing, look into installing cameras on your bus that can take pictures of motorists who pass illegally. These can substantially improve enforcement consistency.
2 - Add more lights
Some pilot programs in the 2010s suggested a very easy and effective solution: just add more, brighter lights. These tests suggested that driver inattention is a major contributor to illegal passing, and the problem can be reduced by making the bus's stops even more visible.
3 - Avoid making students cross the street
If a student is always exiting the bus directly onto their side of the street, the chances of being hit by a runaway driver are far lower. Modern bus routing software can ensure students never have to cross the street to get home, with a minimal hit to your overall route times.
BusBoss can help you improve student safety with a variety of hardware and software upgrades - contact us to learn more about our services!
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