igating to or from school, while on average 100 of these incidents are recorded as being fatal,” said Vorster, add- ing many schools rely on buses to transport students. Of the 130,930 recorded number of K-12 school sites
throughout the U.S., a large percentage use fixed signals and traffic control devices such as school zone signs and flashers designed to control traffic movements and vehi- cle speeds within the vicinity of a school, Vorster said. “People often don’t realize these buses and their inte-
grated stop signals are mobile traffic control devices and fall under traffic control infrastructure. As a result, the illegal passing of stopped buses continues to be a leading contributor to the dangers school children face daily,” she said, adding that an estimated 17 million stop arm viola- tions were reported in 2019, citing National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation survey results. Vorster noted among the lessons learned throughout
the development, testing and deployment of the pilot project was the discovery of optimal warning times and alerting techniques, while feedback on antenna place- ment played a major role in project success.
“Having the right forward-thinking partners involved including automotive, school bus, school zone, and traffic technology experts ensured a sophisticated and holistic solution with improved safety being at the epi- center of the project,” she added. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has not made a final decision on the allocation of the 5.9GHz spectrum being allocated for C-V2X communications on a wide scale, said Vorster, adding that the agency is currently issuing experimental licenses. Once FCC waivers ensure C-V2X deployment requests
from vehicle and infrastructure transportation stake- holders can move forward, “successfully realizing the advantages of C-V2X is straightforward and requires commitment to this safety technologies from all quar- ters,” said Misener. “We see willingness to invest because the outcome on
reduced fatalities and injuries on our roads is anticipated to be significant. Regulatory certainty combined with a broad-based national deployment plan will open the door to broad deployment of this important life-saving
QUAL IT Y MAT TERS
46 School Transportation News • MAY 2023
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