The Center for Truck and Bus Safety at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, in cooperation with the Christiansburg Police Department, has developed an automated system with the intention to reduce illegal passing of school buses by other cars.

In the United States, it is illegal to pass a stopped school bus when the vehicle’s stop-arm is extended and the red warning lights are flashing. Each day, an estimated 1,000 to 10,000 vehicles nationwide continue to illegally pass school buses when they are loading/unloading students, potentially jeopardizing student safety.

Officers from the Christiansburg Police Department approached VTTI earlier this year to assist with the development and installation of a video-based system to help school bus drivers acquire license-plate information from vehicles that pass their buses illegally. Officers had noticed that certain bus stops have had a continuing problem with vehicles passing the buses illegally and since the drivers’ first concern is ensuring the safety of the students, they are often unable to get full license-plate numbers.

The system includes two cameras mounted on the left side of the school bus, one looking forward and one backward, as well as a system box inside the bus. The driver of the bus will have the ability to push an incident button on the system box when an alleged violation has occurred. This will display an additional message on the recorded video allowing quick video review and location of possible violations later.

Currently, the system has only been installed on one bus, and the bus will be available to drivers to use as needed when they find they are experiencing high numbers of illegal passes on their routes. The bus will be used through the end of the school year, and at that time the system’s effectiveness will be evaluated.

“I’m just excited that the project has made it this far and everyone has worked so hard to make this happen,” said Lieutenant Donny Cromer with the Christiansburg Police Department. “We want to especially thank everyone at VTTI who offered technical support and expertise in getting this system installed and running.”

This has not been VTTI’s first experience with finding countermeasures to reduce illegal school bus passing. In 2000, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sponsored research at VTTI aimed at developing an automated system for detecting and recording the license plates of vehicles, as well as their drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses. VTTI developed a prototype system for that project to automatically detect and record vehicles that illegally pass stopped school buses.

Researchers from CTBS are hoping these cameras will create a safer community for children getting on and off school buses and on the roads and reduce illegal school-bus passing altogether.

“Based on the number of violations that occur, this is a serious problem and one that I don’t think parents know about,” said Rich Hanowski, director of CTBS. “As a parent whose child rides a school bus, this issue affects me personally. So as a scientist, I’m excited that my research is being implemented. But as a parent, I’m grateful to Lt. Cromer, the Christiansburg Police Department, and the Montgomery County Public School system for spearheading this effort to make our children safer.”

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