SPECIAL REPORT
Industry consultant Dave McDonald (yellow shirt) provides a hands-on demonstration at STN EXPO East on how to properly adjust school bus mirrors to comply with FMVSS 111.
The Importance of Uniformity
Sessions at STN EXPO East addressed the most vulnerable part of a child’s school day: The school bus ‘Danger Zone’ Written by Taylor Ekbatani |
taylor@stnonline.com
M
illions of illegal passing violations occur across the U.S. each year. While the in- stances are universal, the rules governing them are not. Pupil transportation experts
noted in March at STN EXPO East in North Carolina that inconsistency is part of the problem. Uniform standards could be key to saving lives. “People just don’t know what to do,” said Derek Gra- ham, a retired state director with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and current industry consultant, during the March 29 session Illegal Passing— NHTSA’s Latest Research Results. At the center of the issue is the “loading zone triangle,”
where the school bus, students and motorists intersect. When communication breaks down at any of those points, the consequences can be severe. “Everything has to go wrong in order for a kid to get
really hurt in this loading zone triangle,” Graham said. “But there’s a lot that has to go right.”
20 School Transportation News • MAY 2026 Students being injured in the Danger Zone—the 10-foot
radius around stopped school buses—is often preventable, that is if education and expectations are aligned. Howev- er, the challenge of inconsistency remains. School bus passing laws vary by state, and even by
roadway type within states. All jurisdictions require a motorist to stop while overtaking from behind a stopped school bus, regardless of road type. But 42 jurisdic- tions require a motorist to stop when approaching an on-coming, stopped school bus on undivided roadways, and only 12 require motorists to stop in “certain situ- ations.” The most common (10 out of 12) being on an undivided roadway with fewer than four lanes. Utah requires motorists to stop on undivided road-
ways of fewer than five lanes and Washington state only requires motorists to stop on undivided two-lane roadways. Florida, Guam, Hawaii, New York and West Virginia require a motorist to stop when approaching a stopped school bus on a divided roadway, whereas 40
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
