A national paid media campaign launched by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to bring awareness to the “dangers of illegally passing stopped school buses” will end Oct. 31.
Laws in every state and the District of Columbia require “drivers to stop when a school-bus stop arm is extended,” according to an Oct. 11 NHTSA news release.
“Passing a stopped school bus is against the law and could have fatal consequences. Nothing is worth the risk,” NHTSA Acting Administrator Ann Carlson said in the release. “Children’s lives are on the line – every driver needs to stop when a school-bus stop arm is extended.”
The greatest risk to a child is boarding or leaving a school bus, the release reported. It was noted there were 1.6 times more fatalities among pedestrians than school bus occupants 2010-19.
In one day, 130,963 school bus drivers said 95,319 vehicles illegally passed their buses, a 2019 Stop Arm survey by National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services said, according to the release.
