School transportation/ pedestrian accidents occurs around or near the bus stop when cars illegally pass a stopped bus when the stop sign is deployed and children are either entering or exiting the bus. The occurrence of drivers illegally passing during this critical time is referred to as “stop-arm violations” in the pupil transportation industry. 

A school bus has certain spots surrounding the exterior where it is difficult to see a pedestrian’s physical location. The perimeter of the bus extending out to ten feet in all directions is considered dangerous as this is the school bus driver’s blind spot. The ten-foot area is called the “danger zone”.  This is key to understanding school bus safety.

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There have been hundreds of school transportation-related pedestrian fatalities in this proximity over the years. This data has been collected from the years 1979 to the present. Currently, there are approximately 6 school children fatalities per year in the loading/unloading zone of a school bus. You can find these reports listed on our resources page. It’s important to note that these reports only consider the fatalities, currently omitting the injuries to the pedestrians and or close calls which are shown frequently throughout social media and various media outlets. We have scoured through countless alarming school bus/pedestrian related documents, reports, and studies and found some commonalities.

Where do stop-arm violations occur?

The vast majority being 98 percent of school bus stop-arm violations occur on the left side of the school bus (driver’s side). Additionally, more vehicles passed from the front of the school bus 58% than from the rear of the bus 42%.

When do school transportation accidents occur?

Most schools transportation-related crashes happen during the hours of 6 AM - 7 AM and again from 3 PM - 4 PM. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as this is when the majority of the students are loading on the bus and unloading from the bus.

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Are they distracted drivers or just careless drivers?

Looking through the distracted driver statistics and distracted driving facts, it’s been noted specifically on page 10 & 11 in the National Transportation Safety Board Special Investigation Pedestrian Safety Report which explains that the majority drivers involved in fatal pedestrian crashes that the NTSB reviewed didn't show excessive speed and the majority was not using their phones. Most happened in darkness and low lit times. It's important to note that this report does not constitute a representative sample of pedestrian crashes. Even with the driver safety tips, driver safety courses, distracted driving laws, and driver safety messages spread by federal organizations, it still doesn’t seem to be enough to stop this alarming re-occurrence across the Nation. Other pedestrian resources can be found at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's web pages for pedestrian safety and distracted driving. There you can download traffic safety facts and learn similar information and results.

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So why do we have so many stop-arm violators?

Another commonality is that when the violators are confronted about why they passed the school bus with the stop arm extended, most violators respond with the same response; “I didn’t see it” meaning they saw the school bus but were not aware the school bus stop sign was functioning and fully deployed.

We take your child's safety seriously here at Gardian Angel, LLC so much that Steve Gardner, our Founder is credited with organizing the first mock school bus disaster in the state of Ohio in 1996, which involved mentally and physically challenged individuals. We took the all of this road safety information along with our 20 years’ experience as an ASE certified school bus mechanic and 15 years’ experience as a transportation supervisor in the school bus transportation industry and wanted to do something to prevent these deaths, injuries, and close calls from ever occurring at the school bus stop. 

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Our technology combines all of this information to provide a calculated proven solution to stop these occurrences before they ever happen. The LED  lighting system is mounted at the precise location (front left side/driver side) of the school bus where the majority of violators are passing. Because in recent times there is documentation of drivers who now pass on the (right side) we have expanded our product line to create another LED lighting system specifically placed in the area  targeting motorists who pass on the right /door side as well.

Why a pedestrian lighting system?

Additional lights on a school bus are necessary for children’s safety as well as driver’s safety. As you might have noticed, even your local garbage trucks have more lights than a school bus does. Due to the hours of 6 AM - 7 AM in a lot of locations it’s still dark during that time, particularly in the fall and winter months. Additional lights are required to make sure the children are visible to motorists and the school bus driver. Our light also gives a warning to motorists that the stop sign is extended and children will be crossing the street eliminating the common excuse provided by many drivers that have a failure to stop for school buses.

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Why you should buy our bus parts over the other options available?

Proactive reliable safety options for illegal passing are hard to find cost-effectively. 

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• Crossing arms are a weak solution to this issue as proven below. 

• A friendly little reminder to anyone interested in those school bus exterior surveillance cameras - they are reactive, meaning that they only record after a tragedy has already occurred; they don't prevent, unlike our proven lighting system. We might add that the cost for a complete camera system can be $1,532 for one bus. Our lighting system is a fraction of that amount. The pricing on our lighting systems differ as our distributor is in charge of pricing, but preliminary estimates are about $119 for our cheapest kit up to $379 for our available  LED lighting kits. We would like to add that even the state of the art cameras on the market use infrared technology. In the darkness, every car is grey. Some states need to be able to prove the color of the vehicle to prosecute. With our technology, we can show the cameras the correct color. So which is superior, our innovative lighting system or those controversial cameras?  

• If you're looking for cost-effective options then, GPS vehicle collision avoidance technology isn't your thing. The cost exceeds even the surveillance cameras.

Simply put, we are the best bang for your buck. We know how important budgets are to you. Our Founder used to have to buy school bus parts and install them for a living so he knows you want something cost-effective, reliable and proven. We have what you need help to prevent school bus accidents.