INDIANA (WSBT) — Its name says it all. A school bus stop arm, is, by definition, designed to do just that. But as drivers continue to disregard them, school districts continue to explore different ways to get people to pay more attention.
One option is adding an extended stop arm in hopes of increasing visibility, but they’re not allowed on Indiana school buses.
It all boils down to the issue of modifications that can be made to a bus. And despite the attorney general in 2019 basically endorsing extended stop arms-- the State School Bus Committee is still pumping the brakes.
A photo posted in January on Facebook of a school district’s newest safety measure garnered thousands of shares and comments.
“Nothing has ever gotten this much attention, you know, like this has,” said Peggy Stone, head of transportation for Lincoln County Schools in Hamlin, West Virginia.
Stone’s district is beginning to outfit its fleet of 45 buses with brighter, extended stop arms.
“Anything that makes the bus more visible so that they stop,” she said.
And stopping seems to be a growing challenge for a lot of drivers, no matter which state they’re in including Indiana.
A parent recorded video of a car passing a stop-arm in January on State Road 15 north of Goshen. It’s just one of an estimated 45 million drivers breaking the law nationwide each year.
Data reveals on one day of tracking in April 2023, more than 62,000 drivers across 33 states ignored a stop arm. 2,149 of those violations were in Indiana, which is an increase of 108 from the year prior. That same school year three states reported fatalities.
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These statistics are what’s driving the mission at Illinois-based BusGates. The company's retro-fit product is a two and a half pound, red LED-lit, aluminum extended stop arm. The extended arms are being outfitted not only on Lincoln County’s buses, but also buses in some districts across the U.S., at least in states where they’re allowed.
“There’s a ton of states where it’s already permitted. You don’t even need legislation,” said Trevor Clatfelter, one of the partners at BusGates.
Clatfelter helped lobby the Illinois legislature to allow extended stop arms on buses there. The law took effect January 1 of this year. Montana took it a step further in 2021 and became the first state in the nation to mandate extended stop-arms on buses with routes in which children have to cross the road to get on and off.
“We’re in the game to protect children getting on and off of that school bus,” said Clatfelter.
Other extended stop arm manufacturers like Bus Safety Solutions tout a 90% reduction in violators if an extended stop arm is used. But BusGates and similar manufacturers won't be selling any in Indiana, unless the State School Bus Committee changes course to allow modifications. The committee adopts and enforces rules that govern the design and operation of all school buses in the state.
Extended stop arms made headlines in 2019 when then-Attorney General Curtis Hill was asked about liability issues that might arise from using them. Hill wrote in an opinion the committee has the authority to grant the use of extended stop arms and drivers who illegally pass them are liable for any property damage or personal injury. The opinion was issued eight months after three children were killed in Fulton County when a driver disregarded a stop-arm.
22 Investigates asked the Indiana Department of Education’s (IDOE) Transportation Director, Mike Larocco, in an email in January for clarification on whether or not school districts can, in fact, modify school buses with a product like an extended stop arm. An IDOE spokesperson responded saying-- “Current law is silent on school bus stop arm modification. The committee declined to allow school bus stop arm modifications as manufacturers indicate any modification of the original stop arm could violate bus warranty.”
22 Investigates checked with some the largest bus manufacturers in the U.S. including Blue Bird, Thomas Built Buses and IC Bus regarding the issue of warranties.
A representative from Thomas Built Buses responded saying “Installing an aftermarket extended school bus stop arm itself may not void the warranty on the bus, but any issue that results from the aftermarket part, including water intrusion or problems encountered when wiring/re-wiring during attachment, may not be covered by the Thomas Built Buses warranty.”
IC Bus echoed a similar sentiment saying “From a warranty standpoint the stop arm modification or change of factory installed parts will only void the warranty of those components (e.g. the stop sign and motor, mounting, and any interfaces) but would not void the factory warranty for any unrelated components on the bus.”
Blue Bird said it would issue a statement, but never did despite several requests.
Clatfelter claims none of his customers have ever raised to him any warranty or malfunction issues because of adding an extended stop arm.
“I just don’t see that. That’s just not a good, feasible excuse. If a school district wants it, let the school district put it on,” he said.
Even still, there are efforts underway in Indiana to crack down on stop arm violators. Senate Bill 30 aims to fix what lawmakers call a loophole when it comes to prosecution by requiring drivers who use a defense to submit evidence that they weren’t the driver when the violation happened. The bill’s author, Republican Senator Rick Niemeyer, told Indiana Public Radio that bus cameras usually only capture video of a license plate and not the driver.
But as laws and policies differ from state to state, the overall mission remains the same.
“Parents are entrusting us to keep their kids safe, so anything we can do to keep their kids safe we’re going to try to do,” said Stone.
Senate Bill 30 was referred to the House for consideration on January 23rd.
