School Bus Safety: A Crucial Concern as Florida Kids Head Back to School
As the new school year begins in Florida, thousands of children will be boarding school buses daily, making their way to and from school. School buses transport nearly 25 million kids to and from school each year, traveling collectively 5.7 billion miles.
The yellow school bus should serve as a symbol of safety, a trusted mode of transportation that millions of parents across the country rely on. However, reckless drivers endanger students every day by illegally passing school buses while kids are getting on and off.
As Florida schools kick off a new school year, we’re uncovering how deep the problem surrounding school bus passing is and what we can do to protect students in Florida.
The Growing Problem: Reckless Driving Around School Buses
In recent years, there has been a disturbing increase in drivers who illegally pass school buses when stopped to pick up or drop off students. During the 2023-2024 school year, there were over 45 million stop-arm violations, up from 43.5 million during the 2022-2023 school year.
Despite the flashing lights and extended stop-arms, too many motorists either don’t understand the law or choose to ignore it. In Florida alone, over 11,000 violations occur each day on average. That’s an estimated 2 million reckless drivers illegally passing the school bus every year, needlessly endangering our children.
In Hillsborough County, the numbers are particularly alarming. Approximately 78,000 children rely on public school buses in the county. Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) has discovered that every day, an average of three cars blow past activated stop signs per bus. With about 860 buses operating daily, this totals roughly 2,580 violations every single day. Each violation is not just a number; it’s a moment where a child’s life is unnecessarily put at risk.
The superintendent of Hillsborough County Public Schools, Van Ayres, comments on the problem: “Recent studies of illegal passing in the state reveal that school buses are illegally passed while stopped over three times per bus per day. This is absolutely unacceptable.”
Understanding the Law: What Every Florida Driver Needs to Know
Florida law is clear: when a school bus is stopped with its red lights flashing and its stop-arm extended, all vehicles must stop—regardless of the direction they are traveling in. This rule applies to all lanes of traffic unless there is a physical barrier, such as a raised median, dividing the roadway. For divided highways, only the traffic following the bus is required to stop.
Yet, many drivers claim ignorance or confusion about the law. When drivers ignore these signals, they put the most vulnerable members of our community at risk.
In Miami-Dade County, over 10,000 warnings were sent to drivers who illegally passed school buses during a 30-day warning period. As kids head back to schools this week, its crucial drivers be aware of the law and stop when the stop-arm is extended.
Understanding Implications for Drivers in Florida
Not only can passing a stopped school bus put children’s lives at risk, but it can also have consequences for you as a driver.
Passing a stopped school bus in Florida can result in a minimum $225 fine. The penalty can be more severe if witnessed in person by a law enforcement officer.
Tips for Keeping Kids Safe
Familiarize yourself with the school bus stopping laws in Florida, pictured above:
- Traffic traveling in either direction must stop when a school bus stops on a two lane or multi-lane paved across road.
- Traffic behind a stopped school bus on a divided highway must stop, while traffic traveling in the opposite direction must proceed with caution.
Teach your kids how to safely cross the street when boarding the school bus.
Spread the word! Remind your friends, neighbors, and family to stop for the bus. It’s the law.
More Ways to Improve School Bus Safety in Florida Communities
An effective way to curb these dangerous and illegal passings are enforcement programs. BusPatrol installs cutting-edge student transportation safety technology on entire school bus fleets and empowers communities through our end-to-end enforcement program, protecting children and changing driver behavior. “It’s great to have those cameras, because now it could change people’s behavior,” Hernandez said, bus driver in Hillsborough County.
By fostering collaboration among school districts, municipalities, and law enforcement, BusPatrol enables communities like Hillsborough and Miami-Dade to enforce the law around stopping for the school bus.
Driving the Bus Forward
As Florida students head back to school, it’s imperative that we as a community work together to ensure our children’s safety as they ride the school bus. With the frequency of illegal passings putting our kids in danger, there is a pressing need for programs like BusPatrol to enforce the law and ultimately change driver behavior.
Click Here to Learn How To Make Roads Safer in Your Community
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