W


hen considering factors that support bus safety and efficiency, lighting may not be the first thing that


comes to mind. Yet technology in that area offers some impressive alterna- tives. From innovations with lighted signs and LEDs to the pluses still found in traditional lighting, transportation leaders have much to choose from. “There is so much great lighting technology out there and it gets better all the time,” commented Theodore Nugent, director of transportation services at Coxsackie-Athens Central School District in Coxsackie, New York, which serves 1,360 students across four school sites. A major step forward has been the


development of signs that feature attention-getting surfaces. For instance, First Light Safety Products intro- duced its Illuminated School Bus Sign last April, and the company’s Fully Illuminated Stop Arm recently became available. With these LED signs the entire surface is illuminated, offering maximum light output. This, First Light said, offers motorists more time to see and react when approaching a school bus. First Light’s internal research found that the signs are visible at distances greater than 1,000 feet and readable at more than 300 feet. That could significantly reduce the margin of error for inattentive motorists. According to the National Association of City Trans-


portation Officials (NACTO), an automobile driver traveling 60 miles per hour would take nearly seven seconds to come to a full stop after hitting the brakes, in that time traveling more than 300 feet. Even at lower speeds, it makes sense that the more visible a school bus is to drivers of other vehicles, the less likely some types of collisions would occur. That includes not just rear- end collisions or other impacts to the bus itself, but also illegal passing incidents that endanger students loading or unloading. “Current technology is reactive in nature,” noted Kevin


Smith, First Light’s president. “Whereas our illumination technology is proactive and can prevent violations, acci- dents and fatalities before they occur.” The First Light signs have been a hit at Coxsack-


ie-Athens, which recently installed the Illuminated School Bus Sign on the district’s 24 buses. The district also plans to obtain the stop arms featuring the similar technology.


42 School Transportation News • MAY 2021


LED signage used by the likes of North East ISD in San Antonio, Texas, are more brightly spelling out the presence of school buses to motorists.


“The visibility of the new signs is incredible in all types


of weather and light conditions,” Nugent reported. “Be- ing a district right along the Hudson River, we get a lot of foggy mornings and these signs stick right out. Before installing them, it was hard to tell if it was a school bus with yellow lights flashing or a garbage truck in the dark. Now, there’s no mistaking it.” These signs have also been installed at North East In-


dependent School District in San Antonio, Texas. With 68 schools and 61,000 students, the district operates 270 route buses. North East ISD purchased 20 sets of the signs to equip seven percent of the fleet, explained Bill Har- rison, the district’s director of transportation. “The new illuminated lights clearly make the bus more visible to traffic,” he added. “Having this improved visibility height- ens the awareness of the bus.” Although sufficient time hasn’t passed to complete


comparative studies, district officials are optimistic that the acquisition will improve safety. One measure being examined is the frequency of stop-arm violations, with hopes that the number will be reduced due to increased visibility of buses. In the meantime, bus driver reaction has been positive. “Everyone stops for my bus,” Harrison relayed from


one of his drivers. “Vehicles on both sides of the road stop, and it didn’t used to be that way.” At the same time, North East ISD is moving methodi- cally with implementation.


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