The nation’s school bus contractor association has released a one-minute video that promotes school bus safety and focuses on the dangers of illegal passing by other motorists.
The video, “NSTA: You Never Travel Alone,” includes clips from the 2019 National School Transportation Association Fall Technology Showcase. The event was hosted on Oct. 23 in Washington, D.C., by NSTA and Safe Fleet/Seon.
The video promotes initiatives that focus on timely issues that impact the industry.
The 2019 NSTA Fall Technology Showcase featured live demonstrations of various technology solutions to prevent stop-arm violations. These included a school bus that was equipped with a predictive stop-arm, a crossing guard school bus stop-arm enforcement system that involves camera technology with an auto-ticketing feature, and a rear driver alert device.
NSTA President John Benish, Jr. of Cook-Illinois Corporation, attributed the growing number of illegal passers to distracted driving. He said people are not paying attention. But he pointed to new radar technology from Safe Fleet that detects if a motorist will not stop, that is one of the new solutions that will help motorists, students, and bus drivers alike be more aware of their surroundings.
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In addition to promoting illegal passing violation enforcement, the video also features STOP Act 2019 sponsors Congresswomen Jackie Walorski of Indiana and Julia Brownley of California.
The STOP for School Buses Act of 2019 (STOP Act), which is sponsored by 56 house representatives and 13 senate representatives from across the nation, addresses safety measures and programs that can prevent illegal passing of school buses.
The bill calls for the U.S. Department of Transportation to review state laws that address illegal passing, and research illegal passing and distracted driving. The bill also calls for DOT to create a nationwide public safety campaign to highlight the importance of illegally passing school buses and review various technologies to enhance school bus safety.
“We continue to make significant in-roads toward enactment of the STOP Act, and this video highlights a portion of the progress that we’ve made,” stated NSTA Executive Director Curt Macysyn. “We hosted a great event in conjunction with our trusted partner, Safe Fleet/Seon, and brought attention to the folks on Capitol Hill of the technological advances in the area of school bus safety. We look forward to continuing the positive momentum and encourage school bus contractors around the country to join us in the effort.”
