School Transit Turning to Technology in Safety Push

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Brandon Hayes had far too many close calls regarding student safety during his nine years as a school-bus driver.

“I’ve experienced it myself,” said the chief transportation officer for Township High School District 113 in Highland Park. “I’ve seen cars barreling down on a stopped bus. I’ve had to blow the bus horn.

“We’ve had near-misses. As a driver, to sit in that sit and not be able to tell if a car is going to stop or not — and to have students outside the bus not paying attention — it’s a terrifying experience.”

Hayes, who now oversees District 113’s transporting of students, noted that the district has continued to seek assistance in curbing drivers passing stopped school buses.

He said drivers have reported violations to police, and the district has added illuminated stop arm extenders in an effort to keep drivers from passing stopped school buses. The Highland Park district has also upgraded its camera system on buses in an effort to catch drivers passing school buses.

“We share the data with local police and Illinois State troopers, but we don’t always catch the plate,” Hayes said.

He estimated the problem is an 8 on a 10-point scale.

“I think everyone is in a hurry,” Hayes said. “They are not aware of the severity of what they are doing. They are late for work. They are dropping their kids off at daycare.

“They are going to the same school the bus is going to, and they will still pass a stopped bus because they’re late. They could not see a child in a split moment, and a child could lose their life. I say people are not five minutes late, they are five minutes safe.”

More than 60 school districts in Illinois are upgrading their buses with new safety features. The districts are turning to technology designed to prevent illegal drive-arounds while buses are stopped to load and unload children. School transportation officials said it’s an area seeing a lot of momentum and attention from school districts, families and safety advocates.

Transfinder started as a company helping to route the safest and most-efficient bus routes for school districts. It has expanded to oversee the bus fleets for 87 school districts in Illinois, serving more than 187,000 students.

“Today, it is not just routing that we do,” said Joe Messia, chief operating officer of the New York-based company. “We are a full system transportation department for school districts. We handle fleet maintenance. We cover from soup to nuts for school buses.”

The firm’s clients include Illini Bluffs School District 327 in Glasford and Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200.

Officials in District 200 are using the company’s fleet maintenance and inventory management solution Servicefinder to keep its fleet on the road.

“Districts that use Servicefinder are seeing less downtime and are saving money by not stockpiling parts,” said Transfinder President and CEO Antonio Civitella. “This powerful tool is playing a key role in helping districts have the safest transportation for their students.

“We built this solution because we believe safety begins in the garage.”

Transfinder COO Messia said that the firm finds the most efficient and safest routes for district buses to travel.

“We find ways to solve routes,” Messia said. “We see what streets students are allowed to cross and what streets students are not allowed to cross.”

He said something as simple as what direction a bus is facing when picking students up can affect safety.

Messia added that technology allows drivers to focus on the road.

“In the old days, a substitute bus driver would be on a route they don’t know with a paper in hand driving a busload of kids reading directions,” he said. “With our navigation, drivers not only know the route, they know which kids to expect at each stop.”

Messia noted that communication through the Transfinder program is “very targeted.”

“If one bus is running late, we are in communication with the district, the students and the parents,” he said. “We empower them all in a big way. Our system was built with parent and students in mind.”

It is estimated that 43 million times per year drivers in the United States pass a stopped school bus.

Seeing motorists repeatedly ignore school bus warning signals is a daily frustration for many drivers, including Cindy Morris, a veteran bus driver for Ball-Chatham Community Unit School District 5 near Springfield. Morris’ perspective is the subject of a new video campaign for BusGates, an extended bus stop arm maker.

“It’s a huge issue. I’ve literally had people just watch me drop off (students) and still go by,” Morris said. “Anytime you can draw more attention to something, it’s going to make changes and BusGates has.”

Dan Thompson, BusGates co-founder, said that it is time to move beyond reactive tools after a child has already been put at risk.

“Real solutions exist today that proactively reduce illegal passing and protect children in the moment, and our stop arm extensions are a proven way to reduce violations before they happen,” Thompson said.

He noted communities that have implemented stop-arm extensions have reported reductions in illegal passing incidents, with some school districts noting significant decreases following deployment. The approach, Thompson said, focuses on addressing driver behavior at the point of risk by increasing visibility of the school buses’ stop arm and reinforcing the expectation to stop when it’s extended.

BusGates officials are also encouraging parents and educators to talk with students about safe crossing practices and to engage in conversations about bus stop safety within their communities.

Drivers are reminded to remain alert particularly in residential areas and along school bus routes. Safety officials recommend avoiding phone use while driving, reducing speed near bus stops, and anticipating that children may cross the street unexpectedly.

“In today’s environment of constant distraction, we need safety measures that make school buses impossible to miss,” added Jeff Stauffer, co-founder of BusGates. “Stop-arm extensions increase visibility of the school bus and help reduce illegal drive-arounds, keeping students safe when they get on and off the bus.”

BusGates’ stop-arm extensions are being used in Illinois and 25 other states, as well as Canada.

For the full story, visit: https://chronicleillinois.com/news/cook-county-news/school-transit-turning-to-technology-in-safety-push/