12 School Transportation News Magazine September 2011 Partial National Count Results in Scary Findings NASDPTS released findings from a one-day


count from states that real-world incidences of motorists who illegally pass stopped school buses in the loading and unloading zone could occur more than 150,000 times a day nationwide. Te idea for the survey came about at last Oc-


tober’s NASDPTS conference in Portland, Ore., during a state director-only session. “We gave the state directors a window from


March 1 to May 15 to choose a day to report on,” said NASDPTS Executive Director Bob Riley in July, adding that the survey will be performed next year as well. “One of our considerations is to have a national day where everyone reports on the same day.” Twenty-eight states participated in the survey,


which was released at the 61st Southeastern States Pupil Transportation Conference in July. Drivers operating 111,914 school buses noted 37,756 total passing incidents and 76,685 to- tal passing vehicles. Te morning commute accounted for 49 percent of the recorded inci- dents, and the afternoon commute tallied 47 percent. Mid-day routes, such as those for kin- dergartners and preschoolers, accounted for 4 percent. Motorists passing the bus from the front, or coming toward the bus, resulted in the most incidences at 62 percent. Illegal passings


States Participating in the NASDPTS 2011 Stop Arm Violation Survey


Alabama Arkansas Arizona California Delaware Florida Georgia Iowa Illinois Indiana


Kansas Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Missouri North Carolina New Mexico


from the rear of the bus occurred 38 percent of the time. Te overwhelming majority of pass- ings occurred on the left, driver’s side of the bus at 97 percent of the time. Te most reported passing incidents occurred


in Florida at 8,917 involving 20,040 vehicles. Earlier this year, Washington State passed a law allowing school districts to equip buses with


Nevada New York Oregon South Carolina Utah Virginia West Virginia Wyoming


cameras on the stop arm to capture vehicle, license and driver information during illegal passings. Te law also mandates a one-day count next year starting on May 1. Additional states to pass laws allowing camer-


as on school bus stop arm include Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Virginia. A New York educa- tional group is also pushing for a similar law.


Parents Need to be Proactive in Helping to Teach School Bus Safety In line with the average of 19 school-age occupants of transportation


vehicles and pedestrians who die in school-related traffic crashes each year, mostly in the so-called “Danger Zone,” an injury prevention expert at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center said many injuries hap- pen when children are boarding or exiting the bus. “A blind spot extends about 10 feet in front of the bus, obstructing the


driver’s view. Oftentimes, children are not aware of this blind spot and might mistakenly believe that if they can see the bus, the bus driver can see them,” said Susan Laurence, an injury prevention coordinator for trauma services at Cincinnati Children’s. “As children begin preparing to return to school, it’s important for parents and children to go over school bus safety tips together.” She offered 12 specific suggestions to parents on how they can ensure


their child is safe before, during and after their school bus ride: • The child needs to arrive at the stop at least five minutes before the


bus arrives. • Parents should encourage their child to avoid horseplay while wait-


ing on the bus. • While on the bus, the child needs to remain seated, forward facing at


all times and keep the aisles clear. • The child should not shout while on the bus or distract the driver


unnecessarily. • The child needs to keep his head and arms inside the bus at all times. • Parents should make sure that they remove loose drawstrings or


ties on their child’s jacket and sweatshirt because they can snag on bus handrails. • When boarding or leaving the bus, parents should tell their child to


always walk in a single file line and use the handrail to avoid falls. • The child should look before stepping into the street to make sure there are no cars passing the bus.


• The child should cross the street at least 10 feet (or five giant steps)


in front of the bus. • The child needs to wait until the bus comes to a complete stop be-


fore exiting. • The child needs to exit from the front of the bus. • The child should ask the bus driver for help if an item dropped while


entering or exiting the bus. Cincinnati Children’s ranks third in the nation among all Honor Roll


hospitals in U.S. News and World Report’s 2011 Best Children’s Hospitals ranking. It is ranked No. 1 for gastroenterology and in the top 10 for all pediatric specialties, a distinction shared by only two other pediatric hos- pitals in the United States. Te hospital is also one of the top two recipients of pediatric research grants from the National Institutes of Health.


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