School Bus Stop Arm Passings

1. School Bus Stop Arm Passings

3. History The Florida 1-Day Count - 1996 10,590 Vehicles passing 3,427 Buses 4% on the RIGHT side! (same % in North Carolina) Documented direction of travel, time of day, type of road, type of vehicle, etc

4. Florida Community Focus Groups Parents, law enforcement, school folks Pointed to three issues low enforcement Lack of knowledge regarding bus signals lack of knowledge of when vehicles are required to stop

5. Awareness in Florida Public Service Announcements Toll Free HOTLINE for reporting violations Education and Awareness

6. NHTSA Grants - 1998 Offered up to four grants to implement strategies for reducing stoparm violations Pinellas County, FL Will County, IL 3 County Area, NC Univ. of South FL - continued research

7. Will County (IL) Operation S.A.V.E. Stop Arm Violation Enforcement Illinois State Police

8. Penalty in Illinois $150 fine 3 months driver license suspension for 1st conviction recorded on driver�s record

9. NHTSA Grant Expand efforts of State Police, local police, school bus drivers to arrest and secure effective prosecution 3 enforcement techniques Bus garage radio frequencies on police cars Plain-clothes officers following buses Driver complaints filed on redesigned forms

10. Education/Awareness PSAs on local radio PSAs on local cable Presentations (PTO, etc) Presentations to Citizen Police Training Classes

11. Results Preparing a comprehensive training manual Cases tracked through this program resulted in a conviction charge for stop-arm violation charge rather than reduced charges or dismissals Renewed interest of bus drivers in reporting IMPROVED DRIVER MORALE!

12. Lessons Learned - Awareness Education teaches more than citations People read newspapers &react to media Business owners happy to assist Someone skilled in dealing with media should be present at media events Message boards are not welcome in some towns and many rules apply Planning is critical - don�t wait til the last minute

13. Lessons Learned - Enforcement Stationary patrols in unmarked cars at hot spots can be effective Any witness vehicle will deter violators On-site arrests makes prosecution easier reduces number of witnesses Effective tracking and prosecution results in a true picture of violations Patrol techniques seldom yield a true picture Severity of penalty in Illinois is makes tracking difficult

14. Pinellas County, FL Clearwater, Tampa Bay NHTSA Grant for enforcement Clearwater Police Department How to best target random events? Speed enforcement around bus stops and school zones 240 4-hour blocks

15. Difficulty with Enforcement Bus enforcement not as easy as it sounds Officers could be blocked if not in the right position for monitoring. Press event - scheduled press to ride bus with officers Not a single violation captured by the media

16. Public Education Promoted Florida DOE�s pass report tipline Posted artwork on mass transit buses Video on Cable Access Channel Next Generation Network produced computer ads displayed in gov�t buildings and retail outlets Tip Card - Bookmark

17. More Public Education Clearwater Magazine Variable Message Boards School bus and large poster at Safety Seat and Bicycle Safety Poster Contests - Day camps and summer schools Barney the School Bus - local malls and special events

18. Problems and Successes Problems trying to establish a baseline Problems conducting multi-agency operations (lost mutual aid agreement) Successful public awareness - Next Generation Network & Disney Radio; bookmark distribution thru local businesses Unable to get project partners to contribute $

19. Clearwater Police - RESULTS!!! 1997- 36 citations 1998 - 49 citations 1999 - 358 citations Improvements in getting bus drivers to report violations - follow-up

20. Center for Urban Transp. Research, Univ. of South FL Did the original quantification of the problem in Florida in May, 1995 In 2000, CUTR did a follow-up study to determine the effect of efforts since 1995 Number of violations slightly increased More aggressive driving More buses More drivers

21. Recommendations: Local Formation and participation of Community Traffic Safety Team committees Focus on enforcement and education Get wide representation Implement practical and effective countermeasures Continue Enforcement Blitzes

22. TEXAS - TxDOT Grant to UTHSCSA University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio 3 year project beginning 1999 source: School Transportation Director

23. Project Activity Develop an information campaign publicizing the �illegal passer� program Establish toll free number Coordination with local PD Distribute brochure to �illegal passers�

24. Project Activity Corporate Contributions Billboards ($15k value for $4k) *BUS on GTE Radio PSA 1,876 license numbers reported Many calls asking for info on the law Identified confusion on the school bus stop law

25. Stoparm Activityin North Carolina 1996 Report on Florida stoparm study at NAPT Within 2 weeks a car passed a stopped school bus in Davidson County, NC injuring two students We knew that it was a problem for North Carolina as well as Florida - this drove it home!

26. Stop Arm Violation Task Force Department of Public Instruction Guilford County Schools Wake County Schools Wilson County Schools Governor�s Highway Safety Program Highway Patrol Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE) Division of Motor Vehicles

27. Data Gathering - First Statewide Count April 15, 1997: 114 districts - nearly 13,000 buses 2,636 Violations Statewide each Spring since Data gathering is very important Annual count - 1500-2100 violations reported for 10,000-13,000 buses

28. NHTSA Project Concentrate on a 3-county area Onslow, Pender and New Hanover Counties Onslow, New Hanover - high number of violations Endorsed by DMV, Public Schools, Highway Patrol, etc.

29. Kickoff Meeting - Sept. 1998 All key agencies involved Most important outcomes: Law enforcement not convinced that the data were valid Questions about bus driver use of the stop arm LESSONS LEARNED - The kickoff meeting is not the best time to find out that you don�t have buy-in from stakeholders

30. Time and Motion Study Using an external video camera, ITRE staff validated claims of improper equipment use STOP EVERYTHING!! More Driver Training Needed

31. Distance from amber to red

33. Daily Stop Arm Violations Reported April 15, 1997 - 61 April 27, 1998 - 40 Daily average, week of 10/12/98 - 22.6 (AFTER bus driver training)

34. The Plan for Technology Utilize the Transportation Information Management System (TIMS) Statewide system of computer-assisted routing and scheduling all bus stops in the school district are in the computer map database by address Generate maps of reported incidences for use by law enforcement

40. Operation Stop Arm - Onslow, Pender, New Hanover Stepped up enforcement - Grant paid for Trooper Overtime Press conference to describe what we were getting ready to do Displayed the bus-mounted camera

41. Operation Stop Arm -Onslow, Pender, New Hanover Little media response TV in one location; newspaper only in the other

42. Operation Stop Arm -Onslow, Pender, New Hanover Several traffic violations cited Few if any school bus passings observed Data maps not generally used

46. Finally - RESULTS!! Video was the tool to let school folks and law enforcement see what was actually happening State trooper assigned to field reported violations Camera-related citations have resulted in guilty pleas (even if to a lesser charge)

48. Results - not everywhere! The reductions seen in Onslow County were not seen in the other counties

49. Valuable Insights Involve key agencies before starting Training of bus drivers Gather data to identify problem areas Make use of technology Relationship with law enforcement Remember that data? Make sure it is good and share it with law enforcement Public awareness is effective

50. Key to Success in Onslow County Transportation Director Jeff Smith Trooper R.A. Hood

51. Winston-Salem, NC - Dalton Folwell 2nd Grade Student son of School Board Member Waiting for the bus on a tree-lined street Crossed the street when he saw the bus Struck and killed by motorist from out-of-country driving on an international driver�s license

52. Local Task Force DA�s office Judges Law Enforcement School Transportation Department Added Cameras

53. State-Level InitiativesPublic Awareness

55. Getting the Word Out - The Role of the Media Television Advertising Radio Advertising EXPENSIVE Can�t do it - or can�t do it alone

56. The Alltel Partnership North Carolina News Network - 85 affiliate stations across NC $40,000 + spent by Alltel $8,000 spent by state

57. Ad in North Carolina Magazine

58. Dateline NBC Look for a feature in September Cameras on buses - Violation caught on tape!!