Kari Hoglund Kounkel
Guest Columnist
School transportation made news recently, this time because the Minnesota State Patrol made a study of stop arm violators last April.
Though the study is a good thing and the data is being used appropriately, as is common, the news was presented to raise alarm in the hearts of parents whose children rely daily on school transportation.
I emphatically believe that any fatality or injury is too many. What I offer does not discount or minimize any person who has been injured or killed in a school transportation-related crash. My goal is zero fatalities.
I believe that students should be riding the school bus every day simply because it is the safest form of ground transportation.
A variety of agencies dedicated to school transportation safety and state and federal agencies have spent massive amounts of time and money compiling statistics and creating graphics.
Before we start to fix problems with stop arm violations or any other school bus-related safety feature, mechanism, or practice, we need to acknowledge that school transportation vehicles have an amazing safety record regardless of who is analyzing data and presenting statistics.
Parents do not need to be alarmed or afraid to put their children on the bus; to the contrary, they can be confident that they are making a safe choice for their children.
Remaining vigilant with their children, though, is a good practice for parents. I urge parents to know about the people providing transportation, ask questions about school bus driver licensing and training, and report questionable driver behavior to authorities. The final suggestion is critical; school transportation officials cannot be with every driver every day, and direct public input is helpful to those officials.
Recent news reports fail to indicate how many times a stop arm violation results in an injury or death to a student. The reason they have not done so is because hard data is difficult to obtain. The number is extremely low.
I’ve spoken to many drivers who had stories about near misses. The drivers were always scared and often angry. One of our drivers actually watched a 13-year-old student hit by a violator on a clear day. “I was laying on my horn, but she didn’t hear me” she cried, horrified. “And then the car hit, and the she rolled across the hood of the vehicle, over the roof, and landed on the ground behind.” The girl escaped injury. The driver of the vehicle had no consequences.
Clearly, we need to raise awareness that flashing yellow lights mean that motorists must prepare to stop; once stopped they are required to stay stopped.
Meanwhile, we focus on keeping our children safe despite passing motorists.
All drivers of all vehicles need to focus exclusively on operating the motor vehicle when they are behind the wheel. Know school bus laws, and respect them. Pay attention to where students are standing during your daily commute. Stop and stay stopped 20 feet from a school bus when its lights are flashing, until the stop arm is retracted and there are no flashing lights.
Teen drivers need specific awareness of the law; their training should include how to act when they meet a school bus. Special focus and attention targeting our youngest drivers is a critical factor; they are statistically vulnerable themselves during the school-commute hours.
Bus drivers must practice safe-stop skills and remain vigilant and consistent during every stop, every day. Activate yellow lights appropriately, open the door to activate flashing red lights and stop arm when the wheels stop turning, check traffic, signal students to approach or leave the bus, and close the door to shut off lights and retract the stop arm after students have left the roadway. Bus drivers must also be prepared for drivers who fail to stop by teaching their students what it means when they honk the horn.
Students can be part of a safe solution rather than inactive participants. Minnesota students do school bus safety training and take a competency test every fall. They are instructed to wait in a safe location and to watch for the driver’s safety signal before approaching the bus. If there is no signal, the students need to wait. Students actively engaged in their own safety improve the system dramatically.
I contend that making consequences more punitive than they already are will not improve school bus stop safety, nor will it increase awareness.
The problem is not with established law, regulations particular to school districts, or practices currently in place.
I never experienced a repeat stop-arm violator in my district. I know those violators shared their stories with their families and friends, increasing awareness, and they did so regardless of the severity of their consequences.
Requiring violators to pay fines or attend classes accomplishes nothing more, and anything we do after the fact of the violation occurs after students have been at risk.
Proactively solving the problem may involve something more creative to increase awareness. Perhaps we offer a short video to every driver when they are renewing their driver’s license.
Requiring drivers to watch the video before appearing at the DMV is even technologically possible and easily enforceable.
The critical factor and only thing under our control remains making the effort to teach students and bus drivers how to safely navigate school bus stops.
Kari Hoglund Kounkel, CARES Consulting, has worked in school transportation for 30 years and is currently launching an application designed to improve transportation operations. Her business is based in Monticello.