Rate of Illegal School Bus Passing Incidents Decline, Says NASDTPS

July 22, 2025

The National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) reported a reduction in illegal passing incidents that occur around school bus stops during the 2024-2025 school year.

The announcement of the 13th National Stop Arm Violation Count came during the National School Transportation Association Annual Meeting and Convention Tuesday in Boston, Massachusetts. Earlier this year, 36 states and the District of Columbia participated in voluntary one-day counts of motorists passing the federally mandated stop arm and flashing red lights at school bus stops while children are loading or unloading.

The 114,471 school bus drivers, or 31 percent of the nation’s total, reported a total of 69,408 vehicles passed their buses illegally. Adjusting to account for 100 percent all school bus drivers in the U.S., NASDPTS said over 225,000 illegal passing violations could occur on one day. NASDTPS also extrapolated that 40.6 million incidents could occur during a 180-day school year across all 50 states. While still high, the figure represents 10-percent fewer illegal passes than the 45.2 million reported for the 2023-2024 school year.

“We recognize for the first time we have seen reductions in illegal passings, but we also know the problem is far from resolved,” NASDPTS said in a statement.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, school districts nationwide saw the number of illegal passings spike. NASDPTS had previously cited 41.8 million violations occurring using data from the 2019 and 2022 surveys, as the survey was suspended for two years during the height of COVID, when schools nationwide closed their doors and few school buses were on route. The survey returned in 2022.

Meanwhile, the most recent survey indicated 80 percent of the reported illegal passes occurred on the left side of the stopped school bus. More notably, that left almost 20 occurring on the right side of the bus, where the loading doors are located and where students enter and exit.

Half of the observed illegal passes, 34,748 instances, occurred during afternoon routes. Nearly 46 percent, or 31,878 violations, occurred in the morning and 2,782 violations, 4 percent, occurred during midday routes. Over 63 percent of the violations were committed by motorists in oncoming vehicles as opposed to 23,372 vehicles, over 36 percent, following from the rear.

“The illegal passing of stopped school buses continues to be the greatest safety danger to children,” added Mike Stier, NASPTS president and the transportation program lead at the Illinois Board of Education. “We encourage each state to raise awareness on this important safety issue and to do everything possible to ensure motorists put the safety of school children first.”

Georgia led the way with the most school bus drivers participating in the one-day count at 13,468 followed by Tennessee with 11,811 and North Carolina with 10,597.