school bus is worth looking at and implementing where appropriate,” said Don Paul, transportation supervisor for Washington Township Schools in New Jersey. “In areas where we have implemented the First Light Stop Arms, we have seen a drastic reduction in illegal passing.” Legus noted that the illuminated signage at his dis-
trict, also provided by First Light, “clearly indicate that a motorist is approaching a school bus and not a dump truck.” He added that the buses are also equipped with an LED light system that activates when the exterior door is opened on the passenger and drivers’ side of the bus, as well as overhead strobing lights, both of which draw attention to students exiting or entering the bus. David Bowman, transportation director at Lakeland School Corporation in Indiana, explained how different technology offerings can work together to further student safety. “Our stop-arm cameras are excellent in capturing people who pass our stopped bus. However, they are re- active,” said Bowman. “First Light’s Illuminated School Bus Signs and LED warning lights are all proactive in helping motorists realize it’s a school bus and to stop”. Kuchiak discussed First Light’s published Stop Arm Ef-
ficacy Pilot Study and how “building on top of that model to collect additional data points from more sources, we are able to prove the positive effects improving conspicu-
ity has on decreasing illegal passing of the school bus.” He shared that the median decrease of illegal pass- ings because of enhanced school bus illumination is 64 percent, with an almost 90 percent decrease in infrac- tions during low-light hours. “It is clear that increasing the visibility of the school bus, and the action required by the motorists on the road [to stop] that we have found part of the solution needed to get to our goal of zero vio- lations, zero accidents and zero fatalities,” he added. Alfredo Escalera, fleet supervisor at Seminole County
Public Schools in Florida, another user of the Safe Fleet illegal passing technology, said people are going to see these added safety features and question why the tech- nology wasn’t available years ago. “It’s going to be a no-brainer at that point,” he said. “The systems would be life savers. It only makes sense to have these safety features on-board.” Training also plays a large role. At Berrien’s transpor-
tation operations, Legus said that training is continuous and includes monthly reviews to discuss transportation related events and a weekly newsletter that drivers can use in everyday work with the students. Paul said his district also provides training material to the drivers and that students (up to fifth grade) are given annual training in Danger Zone and school bus safety.
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