Illegal Passing: A Scourge on Child Safety

Motorists Urged to START STOPPING!

ALBANY, NY (10/20/2011)(readMedia)-- National School Bus Safety Week is October 17-21, 2011

The New York Association for Pupil Transportation is using the 2011 National School Bus Safety Week to highlight the factors that contribute to the overall safety of the school buses and school transportation systems that transport over 2.3 million New York children every day, and some 25 million nationwide.

The yellow school bus is an icon in our society. It speaks of safety and security and a solid and wholesome education for our children. That safety and security do not come easily but require the dedication and hard work of many professionals in the school transportation community.

This edition relates to the serious dangers posed by motorists who pass school buses that are stopped, have their flashing red lights engaged and are loading or unloading children near the school bus. These motorists present a real-time danger to the children who ride our school buses.

Highway safety and school bus safety advocates report that motorists pass school buses some 50,000 times each day in New York State. Research projects using digital license plate readers on school buses to scan traffic support this number and suggest it may be even higher.

The Facts: New York State Law (Sec. 1174/Vehicle and Traffic Law) requires that all motorists come to a full stop when approaching a school bus that has its red flashing lights engaged. This law applies to vehicles approaching from either direction and whether on two lane or multi-lane roads. The law allows the courts to impose fines starting at $250 for the first violation and rising to $1000 for the third violation plus points on licenses and possible imprisonment.

School transportation professionals take numerous steps to ensure the safety of the children each day. They train drivers and inspect and maintain school buses and plan routes that are efficient and safe. Despite all our other efforts, the one thing we cannot do on our own is to make motorists STOP for stopped school buses.

The school bus is equipped with several key elements to remind motorists that it is a school bus and that it is stopping to pick up or drop off children:

• It's large size and bright yellow in its coloring;

• It has front and rear signs that identify it as a "SCHOOL BUS;"

• It displays flashing red lights in the upper front and upper rear corners of the bus;

• It has large STOP signs that emerge from the left side of the bus and often have their own flashing lights for visibility. Some school buses are now being equipped with right side STOP arms.

The school transportation community is concerned that even with all these identifiers, motorists are reported as saying that they didn't see the school bus or that they did not know it was a school bus or that it was picking up children. Motorists have been reported as saying that "no one got hurt, so what's the big deal?" or "everyone does it and no one has gotten hurt."

The facts are that children are injured each year by passing motorists and we have had two fatalities in the past seven years. One of those fatalities was a seven year old girl who was struck by a car that had passed her school bus on the passenger side and struck her and killed her as she was stepping down onto the pavement. Additionally, school bus drivers report that they frequently must shut the bus doors to stop children from leaving the bus when cars are passing on the passenger side. Were it not for their quick reactions, more students might be hurt or killed.

This is not acceptable. It is simply not acceptable. It's time for the adults who drive motor vehicles to act responsibly when approaching a stopped school bus!

NYAPT calls on all motorists to START STOPPING! Start Stopping for that yellow SCHOOL BUS with its red lights flashing in the corners and the big red STOP signs extending from the sides. That school bus could be carrying your neighbor's child or a family member and when you pass that school bus, you could find yourself striking and even killing someone you know and love. The fines we will charge you for passing the bus won't make a difference to you but you will never get passed the fact that your car struck a child because you could not be bothered to stop for her school bus.

Please: START STOPPING!

The New York Association for Pupil Transportation is a professional organization comprised of over 600 members, representing school transportation officials in school districts, BOCES and public educational institutions across New York State. NYAPT is committed first and always to the safety of the 2.3 million school children we transport to and from school each and every day. We are committed to actively support legislation, regulations and policies that are in the interests of those school children and call upon State leaders to keep those children in mind during legislative negotiations.