SOUTH HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The United States’ premier Type A school bus manufacturer, Collins Bus, a subsidiary of REV Group, has donated 10,000 bumper stickers to the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) to support the Stop On Red, Kids Ahead campaign, it was announced today, Aug. 29.
The stickers were presented today to the KSDE for distribution throughout Kansas. Chris Hiebert, VP/GM of Collins Bus, presented the bumper stickers to Keith Dreiling, KSDE State Director for School Bus Safety.
“The Kansas State Department of Education wishes to thank Collins Bus, with the support of Lowen Color Graphics, for the donation of the 10,000 bumper stickers. These bumper stickers support our new campaign of Stop On Red, Kids Ahead.”
The campaign was initiated to educate the public on the dangers of not stopping for school buses. Not stopping is not only a violation of Kansas law, but endangers children riding the school bus, said Keith Dreiling. “On a one-day survey in 2018 and 2019, we estimate there are in excess of 1,000 violations every day, just in Kansas.”
Chris Hiebert stated, “Collins Bus has been the leader in safety, quality and dependability in school bus manufacturing for more than 50 years. We are honored to help out with this program to get the word out on stop-arm violations. Hopefully, this helps to keep the kids even safer while riding the bus.”
Ben Jones, a member of the Kansas State Board of Education, attended and commented, “We thank Collins and Lowen for their partnership to help keep Kansas kids safe. So often in the news, we focus on buildings and the security of our physical sites, but we also need to address the safety of our students on our school buses. The amount of stop-arm violations in just one day is unacceptable and it is ripe for a student-vehicle accident. We must do better to remind motorists to stop when the arm extends and the red lights flash.”
In addition, Darren Keller, VP of sales & marketing at Lowen Color Graphics, saw this as a great opportunity for three Kansas entities to come together to support child safety. “We felt it was a great opportunity to help create awareness of child safety, with Lowen, the largest manufacturer of fleet graphics in North America teaming with the largest Type A bus manufacturer Collins Bus for this Kansas State Department of Education campaign. Graphics are one of the most effective ways for schools and businesses to bring awareness to the traveling public.”
Keller reported that the bumper stickers are produced on premium vinyl and will remain on the bus with a removable adhesive with a five-year warranty. “So we hope this helps the Stop on Red, Kids Ahead generate awareness,” he noted.
For more information about the campaign, visit here.
About Collins Bus Corporation
Collins Bus Corporation, a subsidiary of REV Group Ins., manufacturers Type A school bus and multi-function school bus (MFSAB) models in South Hutchinson, Kansas. Collins introduced the first small bus model for 16 to 20 passengers in 1967. That vehicle paved the way for developing the Type-A school bus classification and established the company as a leader in innovative design.
Collins also pioneered one of the earliest wheelchair lifts in the mid-1970s and introduced the first propane-powered Type A alternative fuel bus in 2010. Collins’ latest innovation was the Collins Low-Floor School Bus, which empowered special needs students to board on their own. www.collinsbus.com
