There’s real progress to celebrate in this year’s national school bus safety data, but no one should mistake it for the finish line.
The latest National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) Illegal Passing Survey estimates that drivers illegally passed stopped school buses 38.4 million times during the 2025 – 2026 school year. While that’s the second consecutive year of decline and nearly a 15% reduction over the past two years, it remains a staggering reminder of how often students are still put at risk.
The numbers are moving in the right direction, but the reality hasn’t changed: millions of drivers still ignored a stopped school bus, putting students at risk during the most vulnerable moments of their trip to and from school.
Here’s what this year’s survey found:
56,000+ drivers passed a stopped school bus in a single day
More than 100,000 school bus drivers across 39 states and the District of Columbia participated in this year’s one-day survey, reporting 56,024 illegal passings in a single day.
When projected across the nation’s entire school bus fleet, that equates to roughly 213,800 illegal passings every school day, or more than 38.4 million over a traditional 180-day school year.
While this survey is just a one-day snapshot, it remains one of the clearest national indicators of how often drivers illegally pass stopped school buses and why protecting students requires continued attention.
A second consecutive year of progress shows safer driving habits are taking hold
This year’s projected total is down from 39.3 million last school year and 45.2 million two years ago. That’s an encouraging sign that awareness, education, and accountability are helping change behavior behind the wheel.
“We’re encouraged to see the national trend moving in the right direction because it reflects something we’ve long believed: when communities keep school bus safety front and center, drivers pay attention,” said Steve Randazzo, Chief Growth Officer at BusPatrol. “Progress like this doesn’t happen overnight, and it doesn’t happen by accident. It comes from sustained education, strong local leadership, and a shared commitment to protecting students every time a school bus stops.”
The survey also found that of the states that recorded year-over-year declines in violations, 14 have active BusPatrol programs, with those states averaging nearly a 38% reduction.
While these results reflect many factors and can’t be attributed to any single initiative, we’re proud to see this kind of progress in so many of the states where we work alongside local school districts and law enforcement to help make roadways safer.
The survey reveals when and where drivers are most likely to break the law
Every year, the NASDPTS survey provides valuable insight into when and where illegal school bus passings occur across the country. More than half of all reported violations occurred during afternoon routes, when students are heading home and unloading in their neighborhoods.
The survey also found that a relatively small number of states accounted for a large share of reported incidents. Florida reported the highest number of illegal passings, followed by California, Georgia, and Texas. Together, those four states represented roughly 60% of all reported violations in this year’s survey. While the survey isn’t intended to rank states by safety performance, it helps identify where continued education, awareness, and accountability can have the greatest impact.
Behind every data point is a child who deserves to get home safely
The NASDPTS survey helps us measure progress, but it can’t capture what’s at stake when a driver ignores a stopped school bus.
As Justin Meyers, President and Chief Innovation Officer at BusPatrol, explains:
“Behind these numbers are countless stories where grace and luck ran out: children who have watched classmates, friends, and neighbors struck in front of them and who carry that trauma for years, bus drivers who replay these moments on a loop in their minds. We cannot wait for tragedy and community outrage. This crisis demands the same care, attention, and urgency that we bring to other serious threats to public safety.”
These survey results give us reason to be optimistic. Fewer illegal passings mean fewer dangerous moments and more drivers making the right choice when they approach a stopped school bus. But as long as millions of illegal passings continue to happen each year, there’s still work to do.
If you’re ready to strengthen school bus safety in your community, get in touch with BusPatrol to learn how we’re partnering with school districts across North America to change driver behavior, improve awareness, and help every student get to and from school safely.