Survey confirms 'alarming' number of illegal passes

Just under 112,000 school buses were involved in the survey, accounting for about 24 percent of the school buses in the U.S. The bus drivers reported 37,756 total stop-arm passing incidents, some of which involved several vehicles, with a total of 76,685 vehicles passing. NASDPTS noted that while reports weren't available from all states, the 76,685 vehicles counted in a day by the participating states represent well over 13 million illegal passes of school buses in a typical 180-day school year.
“Others who are not already familiar with how often illegal passes occur will view these numbers as alarming," Simmons said. "We hope these results trigger more safety countermeasures within states and at the national level, including greater motorist awareness, greater enforcement, and tougher, more uniform laws.”
One particularly noteworthy finding was that 3.1 percent of the violations were motorists passing the bus on the right side, where students load and unload. "I was really shocked by that," NASDPTS Executive Director Bob Riley told SBF.
Riley said that the association has sent the survey results to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and other transportation agencies, as well as to auto organization AAA. A press release was also distributed, and Riley said that he has been getting a lot of calls from media outlets.
Riley noted that although some states have done their own illegal passing counts in the past, this is the first time that a national survey has been conducted. NASDPTS plans to coordinate another one next year.

The first national survey of stop-arm running found that more than 76,000 vehicles illegally passed school buses in a one-day snapshot.
The survey, conducted by the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS), collected data from 28 states this spring. NASDPTS President Mike Simmons presented the results on Monday at the opening session of the Southeastern States Pupil Transportation Conference in Oklahoma City.

Original Source: School Bus Fleet, July, 11, 2011

Images from NAPT Summit 2010



247Security's Rick Oram, presenting our TouchDown™ Fleet Video & Data Management System.

Dedicated industry professionals are honored during the annual NAPT awards banquet, while sessions cover such topics as bullying and managing students with emotional disorders. The trade show features new products from many companies.
[Click Here to See the Full Photo Gallery, at School Bus Fleet.com]

247Security thanks you for your support at NAPT 2010!

NAPT delegates recently had a firsthand view of TouchDown™ by 247Security at the 2010 conference in Portland, OR.  Several delegates also left the demonstrations a bit richer with a brand new iPod Touch! We`d like to thank everyone for their support and congratulate the lucky winners!

David R. Asula 

  Pete Brockmann

 

 Mark VanRiper

  Robert Duncan

 Ellen Johnson

Rehana Nelson

Don Stull

247Security Scores TOUCHDOWN at NAPT Conference

Alpharetta, GA – 247Security scores Touchdown at NAPT Conference in Portland, OR
247Security at the NAPT National Conference in Portland, Oregon, recently launched ‘Touchdown’ , a comprehensive video management solution that provides the user with a single interface accessing video, GPS and G Force data in a comprehensive but easy to use package.
Touchdown brings all your video and GPS data to your desktop. Video clips, automatically generated, or requested by you and GPS data giving you speed, path, stops, idling and more, come to you automatically, without recurring fees. You also receive a constant update on the health of your video system. You can manage the DVR from your desk, changing settings, updating software. You never have to go to the bus. Video, GPS and G-Force information across your entire fleet rolled up into one package at an unbelievably low price.
Rick Oram, Director of Engineering for 247Security, describes Touchdown as the ultimate time and money saving video management solution. Oram states, ‘managing your entire video and GPS program from the comfort of your office is an enormous time saver for fleet operators. Video as a management tool comes alive when combined with the robust GPS tracking report generator incorporated into the Touchdown command center. Add our ‘Health Check’, the ability for all DVR’s to report on their operating status before the bus leaves the yard and you have a very complete package’
Unique to Touchdown is the ability for the operator to ‘pull’ video clips from the bus. Events marked by the driver are automatically uploaded but the ability to pull any video requested is very powerful when reviewing everyday operating issues.
247Security’s MiniTrack, the GPS program offered stand alone or incorporated in Touchdown, is now a comprehensive fleet tracking solution that analyses the past activity of a bus, group of buses or the entire fleet offering many analytical tools valuable for route and driver evaluation. This tracking data is also seamlessly linked to video allowing you to ‘see’ what actually happened!
Touchdown is compatible with all 247Security DVR models and is available to existing 247Security customers at a very effective price. For a demonstration of what Touchdown can do for you, go to www.247securityinc.com.

"247Security Helps With Evacuation Education AT STN Conference Reno, NV"

247Security Helps With Evacuation Education AT STN Conference
Reno, NV July,2010

Lessons to Learn When Evacuating Students with Disabilities and Head Start Children

Evacuating a school bus is something no driver ever looks forward to but needs to be prepared for if the need arises. Monday, July 26th at the STN conference in Reno, NV, delegates were offered a first-hand look at what it is really like to deal with such an emergency.

Charlie Kennington opens the session with 247Security's DVRViewer in the background.

One Hundred and seventy delegates watched as a live evacuation was carried out. The session, hosted by Charley Kennington of Innovative Transportation Solutions and led by Denny Couglin, an industry expert in dealing with smoke and fire offered a sobering view of how smoke makes evacuation difficult when every second counts. The general rule of thumb is that you have two minutes to evacuate a bus. Add the complexity of small children in restraints with students in wheelchairs and SMOKE and you have the scene set for the demonstration that ensued.
Two buses, equipped with 247Security video systems were filled with smoke and volunteers demonstrated the challenge of taking students off a bus safety under very stressful and life threatening conditions. The video cameras showed the audience just how difficult it is to see in a smoke filled environment. Using 247Security’s proprietary infrared cameras, while visibility was reduced to near zero, the audience could see the activity inside the bus as students were ‘cut’ out of harnesses and carried from wheel chairs to safety a distance from the bus.

247Security video system cuts through the smoke to give audience a view of the evacuation.

Denny Coglin who has many years of experience training school bus drivers, attendants and firemen how to deal with smoke and fire on a bus, provided some very enlightening facts about the influence of smoke and fire on an accident scene. Coglin talked about smoke as the real enemy and the realities of the need to move fast knowing that smoke will overcome a healthy person within seconds.
247Security’s Director of Engineering Rick Oram oversaw the setup of the video network used for the demonstration. Using 247’s newest wireless network, he was able to provide a real time view of the demonstration, inside and outside the bus. Rick stated, ‘This was a great place for us to show how our wireless system works. I was excited to see how our cameras performed with the introduction of smoke and very pleased with the outcome. Being able to capture video inside the bus wirelessly is something our customers have wanted for some time and today we got a chance to provide them a first- hand look at what we can do.’

247Security wants to thank all who participated in the event, particularly Charley Kennington, Denny Coughlin, Cheryl Wolf, Susan Hunt and Jean Zimmerman.