STOP HOW TO HELP ELIMINATE DANGERS OF TRAVELING TO AND FROM SCHOOL [ AND KEEP KIDS SAFE ] SCHOOL BUS STOP ARM AND SCHOOL ZONE SPEED SAFETY August, 2014
Traveling to and from school should be safe for kids but it is not. Drivers who disobey school bus stop arms and speed through school zones are a frequent danger to the well-being of students and pedestrians. Whether entering or exiting the school bus or walking through the school zone to and from class, student safety has long been assumed by parents, districts and municipalities throughout the country. However, it is increasingly apparent that steps need to be taken to ensure that children are protected when they are most at risk - on the road. This overview will provide facts and information about the risks posed to children during the journey to and from school each day. It will also provide solutions to encourage better driver behavior and improve student safety. The Risk of Riding the School Bus Riding the bus to school is a convenience available to millions of families across the United States. While there are risks associated with all vehicular travel, blatant disobedience of school bus laws poses a singularly dangerous threat to children. Approximately 26 million elementary and secondary school children ride school buses daily in the United States, twice a day. 1 People are not thinking about the consequences of what might happen when they pass that school bus. It s frustrating to see that people do pass these stopped school buses. They re negligent. They don t stop and just take a few seconds to make sure these children get on and off the school bus safely. Mitchell Gordy North Carolina State Highway Patrol Trooper, WFMY-TV CBS 2, Oct. 23, 2013 STOP Each year, kids get on and off school buses 20 billion times including activity trips, Head Start transportation, summer school and child care transportation. 3 During these trips it is the driver s responsibility to keep constant watch over kids on the bus while driving, making it challenging for school bus drivers to record data regarding the volume and demographics of stop arm violations. In the event of a violation or worse, a hit-andrun violation, the bus driver is focused on the child s well-being and is seldom able to collect information such as vehicle make and model, license plate number and the violator s appearance. This difficulty only increases along with the number of violations that occur. Two million more illegal passes occurred in 2013 than in 2011, even though 3,478 fewer school bus drivers collected data in 2013 than in 2011. 4 For three years in a row, Georgia has led the nation with collisions caused by illegal school bus passing. The number of vehicles that passed school buses illegally, reached... In a Single Day: in 2014 75,966 in 2013 85,279 in 2012 88,025 2 Annually: 13 Mil. 15 Mil. 16 Mil. 2 in 2014 in 2013 in 2012 2
Dangers of Entering the School Zone School zones are designed to be low-speed areas in which kids can safely walk or bike to class. However, without the presence of police enforcement, reduced speed limits have minimal impact on drivers. 5 Speeding in school zones endangers children across the nation, making it a dangerous and potentially deadly problem. Studies show two-thirds of drivers are speeding, and one in six are distracted as they pass through school zones. 6 If a driver is distracted with a three-second task the moment a child steps out into the street, it would take the driver 203 feet to completely stop the car if it is traveling at 30 mph. 7 For pedestrians, even drivers traveling below the speed limit pose a lethal threat. A pedestrian struck by a car at 20 mph has a 95 percent chance of survival, but the survival rate drops to 60 percent at 30 mph and 20 percent at 40 mph. 8 What s the difference between 20 mph and 26 mph? Twentysix feet of stopping distance. With children walking in the area, that 26 feet could mean the difference between life and death. Clark Wilcox, Renton Police Department Commander, Renton Reporter (WA), Dec. 23, 2013 A recent study found that the area density of collisions, particularly fatal collisions, was highest in school zones during the months when school was in session and they decreased as the distance from school zones decreased. 9 Solutions for Improving Student Safety Traffic safety leaders have developed effective technology that assists communities and their school districts in addressing and mitigating the risks associated with travel to and from school. These solutions are most often cost-neutral, requiring little to no costs to install and implement. The School Bus Solution Automated enforcement systems are becoming more common as their success is demonstrated by jurisdictions that have implemented them. These programs use cameras attached to the outside of school buses to capture images and video of drivers that illegally pass the stop arm. The evidence is then sent to law enforcement to review before issuing a citation. The CrossingGuard School Bus Arm Enforcement solution, provided by American Traffic Solutions (ATS) is an example of available products that schools are choosing in order to make drivers stop for school buses. It produces dramatic results. On Average, 100 Children are killed and 25,000 Children are injured walking to and from school each year. 11 3
Georgia, the state with the highest number of violations in the U.S., has jurisdictions with programs that ticketed 12,000 drivers from September of 2013 through April of 2014. Clayton County alone logged 900 violations just three months into their program. 12 The automated method allows school bus drivers to focus on their passengers and the road without distraction. The program s goal is to teach drivers that there is a definite consequence for disobeying the stop arm law and convince them to stop, rather than receive another ticket or risk another child s life. Results from existing programs are encouraging; violations have dropped significantly in districts with cameras in use nationwide, and repeat violations are nearly nonexistent. We have citizens crying out for more enforcement of speed limits in front of schools. It s a safety issue. Kara Hahn, Suffolk County Legislator, Newsday (NY), April 22, 2014 SCHOOL BUS With operational cameras in 15 school districts throughout the U.S., the CrossingGuard system issued 14,319 violations from 2013 to 2014. Of the drivers cited, 99.2% paid their ticket and did not receive a second ticket. 13 STOP The School Zone Solution To address the serious issue of speeding in school zones, highly flexible tools and systems have been developed, providing coverage when law enforcement is unable to be present. Solutions such as ATS AutoPatrol TM Speed Safety solution are available in an array of configurations to accommodate varying posted speed limits, school hours, school year dates and other variables. System options include a fixed-pole system, mobile speed vehicle, portable unit and semiportable unit. Automated programs throughout the country have successfully reduced speeding, improved driver awareness and increased safety for pedestrians and cyclists in school zones. The city of Seattle has seen a 27 percent reduction in the number of violations issued since their school zone speed safety camera program started in December 2012. Furthermore, among the vehicle owners who received a ticket, 93 percent of them did not receive a second. 17 In Des Moines, WA, the number of motorists speeding in front of Woodmont Elementary School decreased by 82% in the first six months of the city s camera program. Prior to the program, law enforcement issued between 100 and 130 speeding violations during peak pick-up and drop-off times. 18 In Georgia, school bus violations have decreased... 50% 53% 42% in Cobb County from 1,800 in 2013 to 900 with CrossingGuard cameras in use. 14 in Muscogee County from 300 in 2011 to 142 in 2012 with CrossingGuard cameras in place. 15 in Marietta from 2012 to 2014 with CrossingGuard cameras in place. 16 4
Before cameras were placed near Rhodes Junior High School in Mesa, AZ, 85% of drivers traveled 45 mph during school hours with a posted speed limit of 35 mph. Five years later, speeds reduced to 35 mph at the same location. 19 Automated Enforcement Works Automated enforcement for school buses and school zones is a proven way to increase driver compliance and student safety. See the map below to find out if automated programs are currently authorized in your state. To learn more about how your community can benefit, visit www.atsol.com. CA OR WA NV ID AZ UT MT WY CO NM ND SD NE TX KS OK MN IA MO AR LA WI IL MS IN MI TN AL KY OH GA WV SC PA FL NC NY MD DE VA VT NJ NH MA CT ME RI In Oregon... SCHOOL SPEED LIMIT 20 WHEN FLASHING Drivers in school zones without flashing signage or speed cameras: 56% exceeded the 20 than 5 mph. 26% exceeded the 20 than 10 mph. 7% exceeded the 20 than 15 mph. 20 States with School Zone Speed Enforcement States with School Bus Stop Arm Enforcement States with Both Types of Enforcement SCHOOL SPEED LIMIT 20 WHEN FLASHING We don t want to continue to give tickets over and over again. We want people to learn the lesson if they get a ticket and change their behavior. Ideally, we want to get to a place where we don t need the cameras. We know that won t happen, but each year you want to see less and less people getting tickets. Jonathan Adkins, Executive Director of the Governors Highway Safety Association The Washington Post (Maryland), June 9, 2014 Drivers in school zones with flashing signage and speed cameras: 10% exceeded the 20 than 5 mph. 2% exceeded the 20 mph speed limit by more than 10 mph. 1% exceeded the 20 mph speed limit by more than 15 mph. 20 5
Sources 1 School Transportation News. http://www.stnonline.com/resources/10-safety/786-school-bus-safety-data 2 National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services. National Stop Arm Violation Count. 2012. http://www.nasdpts.org/stoparm/index.html 3 School Transportation News. http://www.stnonline.com/resources/10-safety/786-school-bus-safety-data 4 From 2011 to 2013, the annual number of estimated vehicles that passed school buses illegally rose by 2 million, even though 3,478 fewer school bus drivers collected data in 2013 than in 2011. 5 Young, E.J.; Dixon, K.K.; May 2003. The Effects of School Zones on Driver Behavior. Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Page 4. http://www.urbanstreet.info/2nd_sym_proceedings/volume%202/young.pdf 6 SAFE KIDS. Distracted Drivers in School Zones. A National Report. 2009. http://www.safekids.org/assets/docs/ourwork/research/distracted-drivers-report.pdf 7 SafeKids USA. Distracted Drivers in School Zones. Page 3. http://issuu.com/safekids/docs/distracted_drivers_in_school_ zones?e=4874392/2117207 8 Taft CH, Kane BE, Mickalide AD, Paul HA. Child pedestrians at risk in America: a national survey of speeding in school zones. Washington (DC): National SAFE KIDS Campaign; October 2000. http://www.safekids.org/assets/docs/ourwork/research/research-reportpedestrian-2004.pdf 9 J. Warsh, L. Rothman, M. Slater, C. Steverango, A. Howard. Are school Zones Effective? An examination of motor vehicle verses child pedestrian crashes near schools. Injury Prevention, 2009; 15: 226-229. http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/15/4/226.abstract 11 CBS Atlanta. School zone dangers. May 19, 2011. http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/14675998/school-zone-dangers 12 Fox Atlanta News, School Bus Stops: Danger Zones. http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/25334973/school-bus-stops-dangerzones#axzz2zvxxjbd5 13 ATS annual CrossingGuard report, 2013-2014. 14 WAGA-TV FOX 5, Georgia, Aug. 5, 2013. http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/23049183/cobb-schoolscameras#axzz32i0bbfn5 15 WRBL-TV CBS 3, Georgia, Aug. 5, 2013. http://www.wrbl.com/story/23051254/new-addition-to-school-buses-cut-violationsin-half 16 School Bus Fleet, May 19, 2014. http://www.schoolbusfleet.com/channel/school-bus-safety/news/2014/05/19/ georgia-district-sees-42-drop-in-stop-arm-violations.aspx 17 Seattle Department of Transportation. 18 City of Des Moines Police Department, Washington, The City of Des Moines School Zone Safety Program 2012 Annual Report. http://www.desmoineswa.gov/documentcenter/view/738 18 The Arizona Republic, April 9, 2010. http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/20100409mesa-school-cameras.html 20 Freedman, M., De Leonardis, D., Raisman, G., InyoSwan, D., Davis, A., Levi, S., Rogers, I., Bergeron, E. Demonstration of Automated Speed Enforcement in School Zones in Portland, Oregon. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Feb. 2006. 10 Kansas State Department of Education. 2012-2013 National School Bus Loading & Unloading Survey. http://www.ksde.org/portals/0/school%20bus/surveys/ksbe_sbs_sblu_12-13.pdf. 6