SPECIAL REPORT
forcement. Thomas Built Buses has created a campaign that says, “If you pass, you’re an ass,” Silverthorn said. Meanwhile, the one-day annual survey conducted
by the National Association of State Directors of Pu- pil Transportation Services reported 67,000 violations observed by 114,000 participating school bus drivers last year. It lead NASDPTS to estimate that millions of incidents occur natonwide easch school year and put children at significant risk for injury or death.
Reach Out and Stop Someone Another measure to reduce stop-arm running is by
installing extended stop arms. Child Safety Network’s Ward Leber has worked to create a partnership with one of these providers, BusGates. An important goal of this partnership is to end the millions of illegal school bus passings each year. BusGates and CSN have developed an LED-lit, stop- arm extension that attaches to the stop arm already installed on the school bus. To date, about 5,000 have been installed on school buses in 26 states. When the bus comes to a stop, the extension swings out nearly five feet from the side of the bus, reinforcing
a visual and physical barrier that a motorist cannot miss. This extended stop arm acts like a railroad crossing gate, forcing drivers to stop in advance of the bus, before a violation or resulting collision can occur. Field tests from school districts using BusGates have been promising, with some seeing their daily illegal passing incidents drop from many to zero after the extensions were in- stalled, explained Leber. He said BusGates have reduced stop arm running by
up to 95 percent in some school districts. He is en- couraged by the results and thinks student safety will improve. “No parent should have to fear for their child’s life
at the bus stop. The numbers are staggering, tens of millions of violations each year, and each one is a child’s close call or worse. By partnering with Children Safe- ty Network, BusGates is taking action to ensure every driver gets the message that when a school bus stops, we must all stop,” he added. ●
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NOW SCHEDULING 2026 INSTALLS 22 School Transportation News • FEBRUARY 2026
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