Transcript School Bus Safety Presentation

Sharing the Road
with School Buses
A Ten-Minute
Training Topics
Presentation
Statistics
• “An average of 19 school-age children die in
school transportation related crashes each
year—5 occupants of school transportation
vehicles and 14 pedestrians. More schoolage pedestrians have been killed between
the hours of 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. than any other
time of day.” – National Highway
Transportation Safety Administration
(NHTSA)
Statistics
• “Approximately 26 million elementary and
secondary school children ride school buses
daily throughout the United States, twice a
day.” – School Transportation News
Statistics
• A one-day study was conducted in the State
of Virginia.
– “On that day, 3,394 Virginia motorists illegally
passed a stopped school bus. Multiplying the
results by a 180-day school year brings the total
number of illegal passings [sic] to over 600,000 a
year.
– Of the 3,394 total in September, 187 were rightside passes, on the side of the bus students use
to enter and exit.” - NHTSA
Overview
• Although the standard yellow color wasn’t
uniformly adopted until 1939, school buses
have been around since 1915.
• Annually, school buses transport about 26
million pupils to and from school, and do so
with a superior track record of safety results.
Overview
• By design, school buses make frequent
stops to load and unload students, and this
can, unfortunately, slow down traffic during
morning or afternoon rush hours.
Overview
• Frustrated or impatient motorists and
commercial drivers may be tempted to pass
a stopped school bus that is actively loading
or unloading pupils.
• This is dangerous, and in all US states,
illegal.
Overview
• By law, when a school bus stops to drop off
or pick up students, motorists must stop too.
– Improper passing around school buses is under
reported and is a serious problem.
– In one study, over 10,000 vehicles illegally
passed stopped school buses in 58 of the 67
school districts involved in the statewide study.
That worked out to an average of one illegal
passing situation per bus per day.
Overview
• While most school districts work very hard to
minimize the number of stops where children
must cross the road, kids are at risk when
drivers illegally pass school buses.
The Law
• Everyone who drives a vehicle must observe
traffic safety rules around school buses.
• Every one of the 50 states has a law making
it illegal to pass a school bus that is stopped
to load or unload children.
The Law
• In every state, bus drivers use yellow
flashing lights to alert motorists that they are
preparing to stop to load or unload children.
• Bus drivers use red flashing lights and an
extended stop sign arm to signal to motorists
that the bus is stopped and that children are
loading or getting off the bus.
The Law
• All states require the traffic in both directions
to stop on undivided highways when
students are getting on or off a school bus.
– State law varies in what is required on a
divided highway and what constitutes a
divided highway.
– However, in all cases on divided highways,
traffic behind the bus (traveling the same
direction as the bus) must stop.
The Law
• While the number of actual crashes caused
by this violation is low, the potential for injury
or death is high.
• Bus drivers have been painfully aware of the
frequent disregard for this law and since the
1990’s several states have commissioned
studies to detail how many violations occur
during a typical school day.
• The numbers are staggering – many people
“blow right past” stopped school buses each
day.
Lookout for Stops
• In a perfect world, all school bus stops would
be off the main highway and clearly marked
to provide additional notice to other
motorists.
Basic Tips – Stops
• Unfortunately, many school bus stops are not
clearly marked with signs or notices.
• Children may gather on the
side of rural highways or
suburban side streets while
waiting for their bus to arrive.
Unpredictability of Children
• Children walking to or from their assigned
pick-up/drop-off locations are comfortable
with their surroundings (near their home);
therefore, they may take more risks, ignore
hazards, or fail to look both ways when
crossing mid-block.
Unpredictability of Children
• Groups of children waiting for their bus may
play games and ignore traffic conditions.
• Also, tardy children who may risk “missing
their bus” may run and not pay attention
while trying to get their driver’s attention.
• This could cause them to run out into the
roadway without looking.
Unpredictability of Children
• Children are easily distracted (i.e. hand held
electronic devices, portable music players,
etc.) and could jeopardize their own safety –
you need to be extra alert on their behalf
whenever possible.
Time of Day
• Remember that school buses may run at
varied times throughout the day – field trips,
sporting events and so on may place buses
on the road as early as 6AM or after dusk
when it may be harder to spot children.
• Additionally, most school bus operations
occur during the half of the year when
daylight is shortest.
Non-Traditional Vehicles
• In some areas of the country (typically near
larger urban centers) it is possible to find
pupils riding on transit system buses to get to
and from school.
Non-Traditional Vehicles
• These transit buses do not have the same
warning equipment (swing arms, flashing
amber and/or red lights, etc.); therefore, it
may not be obvious that students/pupils are
on board.
Non-Traditional Vehicles
• Also, some special education facilities may
use vans, sedans and other types of vehicles
to transport children.
Non-Traditional Vehicles
• These vans might or might not be marked as
transporting pupils, and they may follow the
same procedures as traditional buses (i.e. an
unmarked van might stop at a railroad grade
crossing causing drivers behind them to slam
on their brakes, etc.)
Summary
• The school season has begun throughout
most of the country and kids are going to be
on the streets waiting for their bus or walking
home from the bus stop.
Summary
• The National Highway Transportation
Highway Safety Administration has these
suggestions:
– Watch for children walking in the street and
congregating near bus stops.
– Be alert. Children may dart into the street with
out looking for traffic.
– Vehicles must stop when the bus displays
flashing red warning lights and extends the stop
signal arm. Vehicles may not pass until the
flashing red lights and signals are turned off.
Summary
• Suggestions (continued):
– Vehicles traveling in the same direction as the
bus are always required to stop. In some states,
vehicles moving in the opposite direction on a
divided roadway are also required to stop. Check
the law in your state.
– Never pass on the right side of the bus, where
children enter or exit. This is illegal and can have
tragic results.
– Violation of these laws can result in a citation
and fine. In many places, school bus drivers can
report passing vehicles.
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