ANALYSIS


State-by-State Variations in Crossing Procedures — Part 6: Conclusions


If nothing else is clear from the exhaustive evidence presented in the six previous installments, By Ned Einstein


it is that the state-to-state variation in crossing procedures represents a labyrinth of confusion to motorists. Tat this confusion leads to crossing mayhem should be understandable. Frankly, ex- pecting motorists to absorb, much less respond to, the nuances of each state’s crossing policies and procedures is neither fair nor reasonable. In stating this, I am not remotely condoning or excusing passbys. Yet, the author of the study School


Bus Stop Laws in the United States, Canada and Other Countries, from which I obtained much of this information, is far more sympathetic toward such motorists than I am. Paraphrasing author J. Jim: • Most violations of passing stopped school buses are due to bad laws with bad traffic engineer-


ing and public distrust. Children in other countries are better educated to be more careful on the roads rather than having a false sense of security that traffic is required to stop for their crossing. • Overuse of the flashing lights decreases public respect for them and gives children a false sense


that they are magically protected in the roadway, which may increase the dangers due to impatient or confused motorists. • Drivers passing stopped school buses are not always reckless or aggressive. If the road is wide


or its speed limit high, motorists may not expect to encounter a stopped school bus. Many drivers who have illegally passed stopped school buses may have actually acted reasonably. Crossing inci- dents are frequently the fault of other factors such as regulations, crossing practices or the location of the school bus stop itself, and are not the fault of the motorists. To those of us who have spent years or decades coping with the challenges of providing safe and


secure pupil transportation, these comments may seem offensive. Frankly, I think many of them are exaggerated, marginally unreasonable and simply reflect the sensibilities of someone “outside” our community. But, at the same time, there is also a considerable amount of truth contained in these comments, and the seemingly uncontrollable volume of passbys appears to substantiate it. While there is considerable truth in much of what the cited study claims, I also refuse to accept


the inevitability of failure it implies, just as I refuse to excuse our community from pretending that the volume of mayhem our failures have generated does not exist. My personal and professional ex- periences have convinced me beyond any reasonable doubt that they clearly do exist, and further, that most of the hundreds or thousands of yearly crossing-related fatalities and serious injuries are largely the fault of our community members — not the fault of the students or the mostly third- party motorists who often run them down. Despite how much most of us care, dedication alone does not translate into results. As more


than two dozen articles about crossing safety have demonstrated, there is a vast array of basic things we can do to improve crossing safety. Te differences in crossing policies and procedures among states are only part of a broader, more deeply rooted problem. Te fact is that the body of knowledge needed is far more complex than we have been willing to acknowledge, and frankly, many of us have refused to accept this reality. Tis entire series of installments, not yet completed, has provided numerous examples of what can and should be done or improved. Te principal justification for the existence of nearly half a million school buses is crossing; we


Einstein is an expert witness and owns Transportation Alterna- tives in New York City. Te opinions expressed are his and do not necessarily reflect those of STN. He may be contacted at einstein@transalt.com.


are performing much of it at a crayon level and hiding our mistakes with deceptive zeal. To be fair, when one views these past seven installments in their entirety, it is obvious how daunting the task of improving crossing procedures really is. So it is easy to understand how and why we have failed in our efforts to accomplish it. Nevertheless, accomplishing it is the justification for our community’s existence — more than that, it is our duty. We must absorb the meaning from these lessons and apply them in changing how we go about


our business. Te means to do so are within our grasp if we make the effort. But as already noted, caring is simply not enough. Success will come only from relentlessly implementing the changes that our past failures have proven to be sorely needed. ■


48 School Transportation News Magazine November 2011


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