The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched a new national media campaign to educate drivers about the dangers of illegally passing stopped school buses. The campaign will last until October 31.
Every state and the District of Columbia have laws that require drivers to stop when the arm of a school bus stop is extended, because the greatest danger to a child is not getting on a school bus, but getting on or off one. From 2010 to 2019, there were 1.6 times more pedestrian deaths than school bus passengers.
In the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services’ 2019 Stop Arm survey, 130,963 school bus drivers reported that 95,319 vehicles passed their buses illegally in a single day. Over the course of a 180-day school year, these sample results indicate more than 17 million violations among America’s driving public.
For school bus safety tips, please see NHTSA’s School Bus Safety page.
NHTSA’s 2020 traffic safety facts related to school bus accidents provide additional statistics on school bus safety.
