private road where the school bus stopped” and use an approved, hand-held stop sign during the crossing. While yellow buses may be the safest way to get kids to
and from school, First Light specifications and com- pliance executive Brett Kuchciak makes a distinction. “Once they’re on the bus, that’s the safest place for them,” he commented. “It’s the process of boarding and de- boarding the bus when children are at the greatest risk.” And that’s not the only problem. “School bus yellow is supposed to be a national iden-
tifier, but it’s not the only yellow vehicle on the road. Besides the color, it’s the lighting. Amber flashing lights are on a lot of different types of vehicles, and you’ll see red flashing lights on a lot of heavy machinery,” Kuchciak explained. “I’d argue that if you asked most motorists what flashing ambers mean, they might say, ‘Maybe that’s a garbage truck.’ If they see a flashing yellow light, maybe they think, ‘Speed up before it turns red,’ sadly.” Noting that many school buses operate exclusively in the dark during winter months, Kuchciak said even yellow can be difficult to see in low light. “If there’s inclement weather, it could be any color and you’re not going to see it,” he added. Conversely, stop arms illuminated with LED lights, two flashing red lights, and white crisp lettering within the red octagon are unmistakable. “If you see a red octagon that says stop, there is an international understanding of what you’re supposed to do. Our illuminated school bus sign provides motorists more time to recognize and react to the bus,” he explained. “The words school bus are always visible.’” Shelia Dunn, communications director for the Na-
tional Motorist Association (NMA), agreed motorists can easily misinterpret school bus amber lights, leading to confusion and crashes. Ohio is one state striving to eliminate such situations. In late October, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced
a public-private partnership to affix highly reflective “STOP” decals on the back of nearly 20,000 school buses.
“This simple step to make Ohio’s school buses more visible will make a big difference to prevent rear-end crashes and protect both our kids and other motorists,” DeWine said. In Iowa, data indicates fewer illegal passes from the
rear than other states—only 27 percent compared to 41 percent nationally. “Some believe it’s because the warn- ing on the rear emergency door is more complete. Other states warn motorists to stop when ‘red lights’ flash, or to stop on ‘signal.’ Iowa’s warning reads, ‘Unlawful To Pass When Lights Flash,’ meaning it’s illegal to pass when any light flashes,” said Max Christensen, executive officer of school transportation with the Iowa Department of Education. Visible or not, Dunn contended that many drivers
aren’t clear about when they must stop for a bus and when they can keep moving, such as when they’re on a divided roadway. “The National Motor Association really believes that
driver education and pedestrian education, including children and adults, is really, really important,” Dunn added. “Bus driver education is important, too. Some- thing people don’t really realize is that maybe bus drivers need more training. With the lack of bus drivers, that might get lost in translation, because [school districts] are just so desperate to have bus drivers.” The NMA is “categorically against all automated
forms of traffic enforcement, for a lot of reasons, mainly because you don’t get the ticket until weeks later,” she relayed, suggesting that lag time fails to educate or deter illegal passers. “You don’t even remember the circum- stances, so you can’t really fight your ticket. … They just want you to pay up. The best way to stop this kind of ac- tivity is to have a police officer or officers around giving tickets right away. That will make people think next time, ‘Oh yeah, school time, I need to pay attention.’” The organization also frequently points out that since
the National School Bus Loading and Unloading Survey began in 1970 through the most recent data available for the 2021-2022 school year, school buses caused 713
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act included a congressional mandate made to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) to improve school bus stop safety. A spokesperson said last
month a public report on illegally passing school buses, state laws, safety measures and technologies related to school bus safety will be released, once the research has concluded. A NHTSA official provided an updated last month at the National School Transportation Association MidWinter Meeting. Visit
stnonline.com/go/ej.
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