ATS’ Newsletter, Vol. 4, Issue 39
Report Highlights School Bus, School Zone Safety
American Traffic Solutions, Aug. 27, 2014
As the school year begins, American Traffic Solutions (ATS) is highlighting school zone safety in an effort to remind drivers about the urgent need to be cautious, alert and attentive especially around schools and school buses. See video and report overview here.
2 Puget Sound School Districts Get School Bus Safety Cameras
KING-TV NBC 5 (Washington), Aug. 27, 2014
The Bethel School District in south Pierce County and the Highline School District in south King County are launching school bus safety camera pilot programs for the first day of school. The cameras are designed to catch drivers who speed around stopped buses.
9 Children Hurt in Crash with Stopped School Bus
WSAZ-TV Channel 3 (West Virginia), Aug. 26, 2014
A spokesperson with the Department of Transportation tells WSAZ the school bus was stopped to pick up children when the crash happened. A semi was stopped behind the bus when the driver of another semi looked down and then ran into the stopped semi. The impact caused the stopped semi to rear-end the school bus.
Driver Cited after Striking Student Exiting Bus
KATC-TV Channel 3 (Louisiana), Aug. 25, 2014
A 7-year-old girl from Clinton suffered moderate to serious injuries after being hit by a vehicle after getting off the school bus.
Think School Bus Safety
WTNH-TV 8 (Connecticut), Aug. 25, 2014
Thousands of Connecticut school children will be heading back to class, so this is a good time for children and adults to remember the rules of the road in and around school buses. Here is a refresher on the dos and don’ts of school bus safety.
School Zone Safety Camera Times Posted in Renton
Renton Reporter (Washington), Aug. 27, 2014
Renton schools are back in session on Tuesday Sept. 2, and the photo enforcement program is “going back to school” as well. The cameras will be active at the following times and locations. (Renton Patch photo by Dave Nelson)
Keeping Eyes on Speeders
Five Towns Herald (New York), Aug. 27, 2014
Motorists on Peninsula Boulevard, near Woodmere Middle School, will have to limit their speed to 20 mph or be ticketed for speeding through a school zone by a camera that will be installed by Nassau County by Sept. 2, the first day of school for the Hewlett-Woodmere district.
School Zone Speed Cameras Return with Students
City of Longview (Washington), Aug. 25, 2014
School is back in session on Sept. 3, and photo enforcement cameras located in the following school zones will be active.
Authorities Launch Campaign to Keep Students Safe
The Times and Democrat (South Carolina), Aug. 24, 2014
Across South Carolina and locally, authorities are launching a two-pronged campaign aimed at education and enforcement when it comes to school crossing zones and school buses. “There will be a heavy enforcement effort in those areas. We take speeding and school zone safety very seriously,” Orangeburg Department of Public Safety Interim Chief Mike Adams said. “We’re trying to ensure the safety of these kids and minimize the risk.”
Daughter Shares Story from Deadly Red-Light Running Crash
KGUN-TV ABC 9 (Arizona), Aug. 26, 2014
It’s the story of one girl’s amazing journey to recovery. Skylar Mason, 17, survived the car crash that killed her father and changed her life forever. The crash happened July 20 at La Cholla and Lambert. A woman driving a Chevy truck ran a red light and smashed into the Mason’s Volkswagon beetle.
13 North Carolina Kids Killed Since 1999 by Drivers Passing School Buses
WNCN.com, Aug. 25, 2014
Every school day in North Carolina, drivers pass stopped school buses, violating state laws requiring drivers to yield when a bus’s stop arm is extended. … Since 1999, 13 children have died simply trying to get to and from school. One of those children was 7-year-old Alyiah Morgan, of Harrells, who in April 2013 was hit by a truck along Highway 421.
Red-Light Camera Report Shows Drop in Crashes
WROC-TV Channel 8 (New York), Aug. 22, 2014
A recent study conducted by SRF Associates for the City of Rochester shows a reduction in crashes at intersections with red-light cameras.
ATS_RoadSafety @ATS_RoadSafety Traveling to & from school should be safe for kids — but it is not. Check out our report on School Zone Safety http://tmblr.co/ZC9-Wt1PMBCwc
ATS_RoadSafety @ATS_RoadSafety “Don’t squeeze the lemon” means DON’T race through a yellow light! Drive the speed limit & always #StopOnRed. http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/redlight/brochure/…
In 1959, Authorities Found It Easy to Catch Toll Cheaters
The Buffalo News (New York), Aug. 26, 2014
Anyone who ever threw coins into the “exact change” basket at the Ogden or Breckenridge tolls wondered: How would it know if I threw in the wrong amount? Motorists were wondering that as soon as the highway opened, and while Thruway officials say cheaters were few and far between, two early cheaters were arrested and fined $50.
EZ-Pass Scam Targets FasTrak Holders
San Jose Mercury News (California), Aug. 25, 2014
There is a phishing e-mail being sent to drivers across the nation claiming they owe money for unpaid E-ZPass tolls. To report a phishing e-mail, forward it to: phishing-report@us-cert.gov.
Editorial: School Bus Danger Zone
KSLA-TV 12 (Louisiana), Aug. 27, 2014
Schools all over the ArkLaTex are back in session. That means dozens of school buses picking up and dropping off children. And every year we hear about a child hurt, and sometimes killed, by a motorist that fails to stop for a school bus. A video taken from a school bus camera in West Virginia shows a near-miss that should serve as a reminder to us all — never pass a stopped school bus.
Editorial: School Bus Stop Arm Violations Diminishing, but Not Enough
The Baltimore Sun (Maryland), Aug. 27, 2014
Like turning a battleship around in the ocean, steering unsafe public behavior in a different direction can seem an agonizingly slow process. When the behavior is intolerable, it is all the more frustrating. This is the case with the frequency of a dangerous traffic violation — drivers blowing past school buses that are stopped to pick up or drop off school children.
Editorial: Failing Grades for School Bus Safety
The Baltimore Sun (Maryland), Aug. 25, 2014
The latest survey conducted by the Maryland State Department of Education shows that the students’ fate is being tempted on a regular basis by drivers who seem either unaware of the law or unwilling to follow it. Drivers are forbidden to pass a bus in either direction when its stop arm swings out and its lights are flashing, yet that happens all the time.
Editorial: Cameras Are Rolling; Now Slow Down
The Times/MyWebTimes.com (Illinois), Aug. 22, 2014
You’ve been warned. That’s the prevailing message from Illinois State Police District 17, which this week rolled out a photo enforcement van it plans to use to deter speeding in construction zones. Here are the harsh details:
Voices: Northwest Dallas County Readers Discuss Cameras on School Buses
The Dallas Morning News (Texas), Aug. 24, 2014
The school bus driver’s job is to get all of his/her kids to school and back safely. Ticketing selfish drivers who ignore flashing red lights and extended warning arms is the best way to help bus drivers do their jobs.
Letter to the Editor: Make Students’ Safety a Priority
The Gazette (Iowa), Aug. 22, 2014
If someone cannot notice a school bus with red flashing lights, how will they notice a small child darting out in front of it? Kadyn could have been your child, grandchild, a niece or nephew. Demand enforcement.
“Success should not be measured by the amount of revenue generated for the county or towns, but whether drivers learn to slow down.”
Dr. Peter Weber, Hewlett-Woodmere’s assistant superintendent for business
Five Towns Herald (New York), Aug. 27, 2014
“We no longer have to be present for a citation to be issued for a stop arm violation. Thanks to technology and video cameras on the school bus, forms will be filled out and information sent to the (state) Department of Public Safety and citations will be issued by way of jurisdiction.”
Mike Adams, Orangeburg Department of Public Safety Interim Chief
The Times and Democrat (South Carolina), Aug. 24, 2014