b'W ith the widespread adoption of smart- A half-dozen school districts, including phones, distracted driving has reachedClark-Pleasant School Corporation in Indiana, crisis proportions. In some jurisdic- are piloting the technology. Safe Fleet demon-tions, distracted drivers now causestrated how the system works during the STN more death and injuries than drunk drivers. EXPO Indianapolis in June.I was shocked and alarmed to learn that overWhen a school bus is stopped next to the curb, 95,000 motorists endangered the lives of schoolchildren who are playing nearby could be in children by illegally passing stopped school bus- danger of being struck by the bus, so Safe Fleet es in a single day in the U.S., according to a newalso developed video-based AI that detects when National Association of State Directors of Pupilchildren are in this zone and alerts the driver. Transportation Services (NASDPTS) 2019 survey. Only when the area is clear of students, does the Extrapolating this to an average 180-day schoolsystem give the driver the go-ahead to pull away. year means that there could be at least 17 millionImportantly, the system is so sensitive that it can violations a year. It is very likely that the num- tell the difference between a child and an empty ber is much higher, as only about a quarter of allstroller.school bus drivers nationwide participated in theMany school buses already have video camer-voluntary count. This is deeply concerning. as installed inside to capture student behavior Passing vehicles cause an estimated two-thirdsproblems. Drivers who have to focus on the road, of school bus loading and unloading fatalities.traffic and safety, cant simultaneously be sorting So how can school districts improve safety, givenout student behavioral problems.the rise of distracted driving incidents? Technology can also be used to detect unsafe One solution is technologymore specificallydriving, with alarms being triggered by harsh artificial intelligence (AI). Its what drives thebraking, sharp turns, fast acceleration and promise of autonomous vehicles. While we cantspeeding. Any driver event can be captured and imagine school buses of the future without atuploaded for review and coaching.least one adult on board to manage student be- These types of technologies will likely be haviorand we dont want tocertainly a greaterembedded in new school buses, which should automation of school bus route service can ad- substantially improve safety and reliability.dress many issues the industry currently faces.Collision AvoidancePreventing School Bus Tragedies Student safety is an overriding concern of the Mobile video surveillance that is used toindustry, parents and schools. The industry has capture the license plates of illegally passinga great track record, but I believe there is always vehicles for law enforcement purposes has beenroom for improvement.on the rise in recent years. But this wont preventCollision avoidance capabilities, such as warn-actively injuries and fatalities. ing when another vehicle is on a trajectory for Safe Fleet, for example, has built a system forcollision, lane departure alerts, and even sensors school buses to address this crisis. Using radar, AI,to warn when a drivers eyes are closing due to sensors, high-definition cameras and predictivedrowsiness, all exist now because of declining analytics, the system measures the speed of ap- technology costs.proaching vehicles in either direction and predictsEmergency braking is another example. I was if a vehicle is going to illegally pass the bus, notesrecently in the passengers seat driving with a Chris Akiyama, the vice president of school busesfriend. The car in front of us stopped suddenly, at Safe Fleet. and our car braked sharply without involvement The radar detects if a vehicle is traveling at aof the driver. This $700 option saved my friend a speed that indicates it wont stop for the school$3,000 fender bender and maintained his perfect bus that is flashing its lights and extending itsdriving record for his insurance.stop arm. It sets off audio and video alarms thatWe are eventually going to see more automat-warn the driver and children of the impendinged functions like these as standard features in danger. A pre-recorded message also warns thenew school buses. At this point these features children not to cross the road. Safe Fleet calls thisare mostly optional, so they require addition-the Predictive Stop Arm. al expenditures. However, as the cost of these The system is even equipped with high-defini- technologies decline, they will simply be in-tion cameras to record the incident and capture thecluded in the price of base models in the next license plate of the car that illegally passed the bus. five to 10 years.www.stnonline.com31'