Red Means Go? Thousands of Cars Illegally Pass Stopped School Buses in Tulare County Stop-Arm Study

• Visalia Unified School District partnered with BusPatrol to trial stop-arm safety technology and see how often cars illegally pass stopped school buses.
• School buses involved in the pilot were passed more than three times per bus day from November to February, nine school buses recorded more than 1,000 stop-arm violation incidents.
• Visalia Unified School District has announced results of a pilot program with safety technology company, BusPatrol.

As part of the pilot, nine school buses were equipped with stop-arm cameras to see how often cars illegally pass school buses. From November 28th to February 25th, 1,196 vehicles illegally passed school buses that were stopped to load and unload children. This equates to 3.1 stop-arm violations per bus per day, one of the highest violation rates captured in BusPatrol pilots being conducted across the country.

California state law requires vehicles to stop for a stopped school bus with its stop-arm extended and red lights flashing. Under current legislation, school districts and law enforcement agencies are not permitted to use automated stop-arm cameras to cite violators.

Jean Souliere, CEO and Founder at BusPatrol, said: “This school year has been one of the most dangerous in recent history in terms of road safety. There have been too many tragedies which could have been avoided. The big yellow bus should be a clear warning to people to slow down and hit the brakes.”

Campaigners and school bus safety advocates across California are calling for better legislation to keep students safe on the journey to and from school. To join the cause, contact your state representative and express your support for AB 2084 and the use of school bus safety technology.