The National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT) recently published a snapshot of their 16 hot button issues for 2015. Here’s what we recommend to address three of them:
1. Illegal passing of stopped school buses exposes our children to the risk of injury and death. It must be eliminated through standardized penalties, simpler enforcement and greater public education efforts.
Evidence from the NASDPTS annual stop arm survey shows a real threat to student safety to the tune of nearly 76,000 violations in 29 states in a single day. But, how do you address that threat without taking drivers attention away from loading and unloading students?
The solution: an automated stop-arm camera enforcement program. A sensor placed below the stop arm triggers event recording as motorists pass the stopped bus. Video of the event is tagged with GPS coordinates, date, and time, necessary for prosecution and downloaded automatically via wifi and a clip easily created for review by law enforcement. Supported by initiatives to raise penalties and inform the public on stop arm laws, stop arm cameras can be an effective of improving student safety.
2. Bullying has no place on the school bus, and school districts should have clear and well-considered policies for handling such events and behaviors.
We highlighted some of the challenges school districts have sourcing and funding anti-bullying driver training, and how we’re working to change that, in a recent presentation to the NASDPTS members in November. Our presentation outlined how awareness, education, and technology in combination with such policies have proven successful in reducing the frequency of bullying on the bus.
See the full presentation for some interesting findings here.
3. School transportation operators should utilize computer-based routing and scheduling systems to attain maximum efficiency in their operations and safety for students.
We wholeheartedly agree! In fact we’ve seen school districts use computer-based routing software to reduce transportation costs by fifteen percent while increasing student safety. Routing software can aid in optimizing routes for bell times, route hazards, and maximum travel times. And when integrated with other technologies such as student ridership and live GPS tracking, it can drastically improve the transportation department’s insight into their fleet’s safety and efficiency.
View this case study on how one Texas school district used routing software integrated with vehicle tracking to improve accident response times by 75%.
These three issues will be at the forefront of the NAPT’s attention for public policy in 2015. And Seon, as a proud NAPT member will continue to join them in their efforts.
Lori Jetha
Marketing Manager
Seon
