THOUGHT LEADER Crossing Arms: Do They Work? Written by Jeff Cassell
A
s the former VP of risk management for Laid- law for over 21 years, I was responsible for the safety of operating 38,000 school buses. To this day, I clearly recall one specific tragic
accident that resulted in a 6-year-old boy being killed by the bus he rode. Upon exiting, he walked in front of the bus, where the driver did not see him, and was struck by the front of the bus and killed by the rear wheels. There was no crossing arm on the bus. Two years later, I was subpoenaed to a deposition by the plaintiff’s lawyer. I was asked if the bus had a cross- ing arm and if this tragedy could have been prevented. Obviously, the answer was yes, it may have been pre- vented. In fact, I believe there was more than a 90 percent chance it would have been prevented. Due to this tragedy, Laidlaw retrofitted all 38,000 school buses with crossing arms. This led to no further front of the bus danger zone student fatalities. Let us consider the overall U.S. danger zone fatalities
over the past 20 years. In the last decade, there were 51 student fatalities. In the previous decade there were 111 student fatalities, a 54 percent reduction. So, how did we achieve this? I believe that the fitting of crossing arms was one of the primary reasons for saving these young lives, and the numbers prove this statement. In more specific terms, there were nine front-of-the-
bus fatalities in the last decade. In the prior decade there were 28 front-of-the-bus student fatalities. That is a sig- nificant reduction, 68 percent in fact. More importantly, 19 children’s lives were saved. Crossing arms are mandatory on all school buses in Canada. However, only 25 states require crossing arms. In the remaining 25 states, crossing arms are optional. It is estimated that 60 percent of all the school buses in the
24 School Transportation News • FEBRUARY 2025
U.S. have crossing arms. On Sept. 13, 2022, a 6-year-old girl in Fort Worth,
Texas was killed at the front of her bus—no crossing arm. Crossing arms were fitted to all that district’s buses after this collision. On Feb.16, 2024, in New York, a 5-year-old girl was
killed at the front of her bus, and again no crossing arm. If these buses had crossing arms, it is likely that these
children would still be alive. Do crossing arms work in reducing danger zone fatalities? Absolutely, as proven by the data.
What Costs are Involved? A crossing arm retails around $400. If purchased in
volume, this cost can be reduced. Many districts install them on all new school buses and the cost is spread over the life of the vehicle. For example, a Type C propane school bus without a crossing arm costs $140,000. The additional crossing arm would increase the cost to $140,400. Clearly this is a no brainer. Installation takes between two and three hours de- pending upon the make and model of the bus. However, if required on new school buses, the manufacturer would install the crossing arms. Ideally, all school buses used to transport students should
have a crossing arm. At the least, they should be required on all new school buses, then, look to retrofit them on ex- isting buses starting with the newer buses in your fleet.
What States Do Not Require Crossing Arms? The last study of crossing arm requirements was
performed by the National Assocation for Pupil Trans- portation in January 2019. At that time, crossing arms were not required in the following 25 states: Alaska,
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