School Bus Fleet, October 2017

NEWS Kansas Report Shows 30 Days of Stop Arm Violations By Thomas McMahon TOPEKA Kan A lengthy survey of illegal school bus passing in Kansas counted nearly 10000 stop arm violations in 30 school days The 30 Day School Bus Passing Survey took place across the state from Jan 23 to March 3 The Kansas State Department of Education KSDE and the Kansas Highway Patrol KHP released the results on Aug 16 Of the 286 school districts in Kansas 57 20 volunteered to take part in the project In all they reported 9967 school bus stop arm violations over the 30 school days Out of the total 9967 violations 9745 98 occurred on the left side of the bus and 222 2 were on the right side where students board and exit Nearly three fourths of the violating vehicles 7249 73 passed from the front of the bus while 2718 27 passed from the rear More than two thirds of the violations 6888 69 were reported in the states largest school system Wichita Unified School District While many states conduct one day stop arm violation counts annually or monthly a 30 day study is much longer than usual The concept came about earlier this year after KSDE discussed traffic safety issues around buses with KHP which requested more extensive data In releasing a report on the 30 day survey KSDE acknowledged its limitations For example the districts werent randomly selected and some didnt participate in the entire study Even so KSDE and KHP oficials said in a press release that the data point to a significant safety concern The results of this survey are an important reminder that we all need to slow down put down the cell phones and pay attention said Dr Randy Watson Kansas commissioner of education Nothing is more important than protecting the lives of our children KHP Superintendent Col Mark Bruce said that his agency will use the survey data in school bus stop education and enforcement efforts The results of the survey clearly identified a significant threat to the safety of children who are bused to school Bruce said The patrol will be working with the Kansas law enforcement community to implement enforcement and educational strategies to reduce the incidence of motorists illegally passing school buses that are in the process of loading or unloading children The 30 day survey was separate from a one day survey that Kansas conducted on April 19 as part of a nationwide efort see story below Kansas one day survey counted 691 stop arm violations with 2527 school bus drivers across the state participating The Kansas 30 Day School Bus Passing Survey report is available via schoolbusfleet com Oct17d KSDE is no stranger to school bus safety research projects The agency also conducts an annual national survey of school bus loading and unloading fatalities 8 SCHOOL BUS FLEET OCTOBER 2017 WWW SCHOOLBUSFLEET COM Photo courtesy N Y School Bus Contractors Assn National Survey Counts 78K Illegal Passes By Thomas McMahon The latest national survey of stop arm running found that nearly 80000 drivers illegally passed school buses in one day In the seventh annual survey coordinated by the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services NASDPTS 29 states and the District of Columbia participated with 104468 school bus drivers reporting that 77972 vehicles illegally passed their buses on a single day earlier this year The finding equates to a violation rate of 075 vehicle passes per bus which is consistent with surveys from recent years The 2016 survey showed a violation rate of 077 as did the 2015 edition We know that students are far safer in school buses but when they are outside the bus they are more vulnerable to injury or death said Diana Hollander president of NASDPTS Any driver who passes a stopped school bus illegally is endangering children and is subject to significant fines and possibly other penalties NASDPTS noted that the annual survey has brought more attention to the stop arm running issue among state and federal policymakers The violation data have also helped industry associations in promoting the need to stop for school buses and in pushing for stronger penalties for offending motorists Detailed survey results from 2017 and past years are available at www nasdpts org stoparm Nearly 10000 illegal passes of school buses in Kansas were reported in a 30 day survey