Lorton, Virginia, Aug. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — BusPatrol, North America’s leading school bus stop-arm safety solution, is launching a crucial safety campaign to remind drivers to slow down and stop for school buses. As students nationwide prepare to head back to school, the initiative coincides with the release of concerning data showing a significant rise in illegal passing incidents.
Last month, the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) released new data from its annual school bus driver stop-arm survey, revealing that school buses are illegally passed an estimated 45.2 million illegal passes each school year. This marks a nearly four percent increase from the previous year’s figures, underscoring the urgent need for greater awareness and enforcement of school bus safety traffic laws.
“BusPatrol is leading the way to make our communities safer, and that begins by educating drivers on their responsibilities when they get behind the wheel,” stated Justin Meyers, President and Chief Innovation Officer at BusPatrol. “This national campaign is about making sure that all Americans follow the rules of the road and do their part to keep our children safe.”
As part of its campaign, BusPatrol is partnering with school districts and municipalities in states including Florida, Maryland, New York, Pennslyvania, and Virginia to run public services awareness campaigns through social media, paid advertisements, and other channels to remind motorists about school bus safety traffic laws.
Data from BusPatrol indicates that school buses were illegally passed over 75,000 times between August and September last year when the 2023-2024 school year started. BusPatrol’s back-to-school campaign seeks to spotlight school bus safety and drive behavioral change among drivers.
Nationwide, communities are increasingly adopting school bus photo enforcement programs to address the growing problem of stop-arm violations, including, most recently, Hillsborough County Public Schools and Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Florida.
BusPatrol, a leading provider of this technology, has supported communities in reducing violations by over 40 percent in select areas.
For more information on BusPatrol’s efforts and to learn more about school bus safety, visit BusPatrol.com.