Every transportation director and school bus driver knows the feeling all too well.
The red lights are flashing, the stop arm is extended, students are stepping into the roadway, and a driver chooses not to stop. That moment, repeated in communities across the country nearly 40 million times each year, set the tone for the opening panel discussion at the 2025 National School Bus Safety Summit and grounded the conversation in the real, everyday risk behind the data.
Convened by BusPatrol in Washington, D.C. alongside the Governors Highway Safety Association and Safe Kids Worldwide, the Summit brought together the full safety ecosystem: federal and state officials, law enforcement, student transportation leaders, child safety organizations, researchers, and school district decision makers. This opening session began a five-part dialogue designed to move from defining the problem to aligning on solutions, with each conversation building toward a coordinated, nationwide action plan to reduce illegal school bus passings and better protect students.
Meet the Panel
- Jonathan Adkins, CEO, Governors Highway Safety Association
- Torine Creppy, President, Safe Kids Worldwide
- Kristin Poland, Ph.D., Acting Director, Highway Safety, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
- Molly McGee Hewitt, CEO & Executive Director, National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT)
- Rick Birt, Vice President of Government Operations & Safety, BusPatrol
Under the moderation of GHSA’s CEO, Jonathan Adkins, the conversation centered on illegal school bus passings, dangerous driver behavior, and the close calls that leave a lasting human impact. Meaningful, measurable progress depends on state highway safety offices and transportation leaders working together as one system — aligning funding, sharing data, and delivering consistent safety campaigns that reach drivers in ways that influence real decisions behind the wheel.
Take Action: A National Blueprint for School Bus Safety
What came out of the National School Bus Safety Summit is a clear path forward. The National School Bus Safety Action Plan, developed in partnership by the Governors Highway Safety Association and BusPatrol, equips decision-makers with the data, strategies, and policy framework to effectively deploy programs, strengthen laws, and change driver behavior.