S CHO O L BU S A CCIDE NT R E CO NS TR UCTIO N, LLC The School Bus Collision Investigation Online Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 6 Student Pedestrians and Stop Copyright, 2012 by Dr. Ray Turner. All rights Arm Violators: Ignore or Prevent? reserved. School bus collision investigation personnel’s biggest con- cern and the most frequently occurring unresolved are “close calls” or more properly called “proximity events.” Other than SBCIT & SBARC 2 a transportation supervisor observing several hundred or thousand bus stop locations each day-morning and afternoon- SBARC & The Report 3 the only hope of identifying school bus stop arm violators is to receive from the bus drivers a valid report with as much SBARC & the Decision 3 information as possible about each potential collision event related to stop arm violations. Note that in the model below SBARC Rules 6 the term “School Bus Driver Stop Arm Violator Reports” and What is not shown in the how those reports are directly related to other model elements model is the answer to a SBARC Benefits 7 including: Investigate school bus stop arm violators; identify fundamental question: “Do alternate bus stop locations; revise bus routes with alternate We Ignore Stop Arm Viola- stop locations and identifying hazardous bus stops. tors or Do We Prevent Them?” This question should be thoroughly con- SBCIT members inter- act with many other sidered by each school district transportation di- persons with different rector as well as the School responsibilities and Bus Collision Investigation authority in the “chain of command.” An or- Team that receives a report or does an onsite investiga- ganizational chart tion at a bus stop where does not always re- there are one or more stop flect the actual flow of decision making and arm violations occurring. actions taken. This The model indicates that model is a proposed school bus drivers should on based on the au- report all stop arm violators thor’s twelve years as by filling out a report form. a central transporta- The supervisor will receive tion office administra- the report and assign the tor. The reader may SBCIT to do an onsite in- identify some of the vestigation/observation of same relationships the bus stop in question to between personnel as document as best as possi- indicated in the model ble the identity of one or or they may draw their more stop arm violators own model to reflect there. local district condi- tions. Note next in the model that the transportation supervisor, in The model shows that of consultation with the School Bus Accident Review Committee the school bus driver does The central purpose of (SBARC), will identify alternate bus stop locations and ob- not report a stop arm viola- this newsletter and of serve whether there is a decrease in bus stop arm violators tor and the transportation the model proposed and violations. Then the Router will revise the bus stop route supervisor receives a com- and other information to show the alternate bus stop location. Following that the plaint from another motor- to follow is to reduce ist, a parent of a bussed school bus driver does a followup at the new to identify haz- stop arm violations ards at that new bus stop location, if any. The actual process student or another credible and increase the in a transportation department may not be in this order and source then the SBCIT will safety of students as the personnel (elements) of the model may not interact as do an onsite observation. pedestrians. shown.