07/22/2025
PRESS RELEASE
Annual NASDPTS Survey Highlights Danger of Passing School Buses
July 22, 2025
Boston, MA – Today, at the 2025 National School Transportation Associations Annual Meeting & Convention held in Boston, Massachusetts, the national association representing state directors of pupil transportation released the results of its thirteenth survey on illegal passing of stopped school buses. In 36 states throughout the country and the District of Columbia approximately 31 percent of the nation’s school bus drivers participated in a one-day survey to report motorists who passed their stopped school buses. In the survey, 114,471 school bus drivers reported that 69,408 vehicles passed their buses illegally on a single day during the 2024-2025 school year. Adjusting for 100% of the school bus drivers in the U.S., we would have seen just over 225,000 illegal passings. Projected across a 180-day school year, these sample results point to more than 40.6 million violations per year among America’s motoring public. As the projected violations for the 2023-2024 school year were 45.2 million, we recognize for the first time we have seen a reduction in illegal passings, but we also note the problem is far from resolved.
“The illegal passing of stopped school buses continues to be the greatest safety danger to children. We at the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services recognize that 40.6 million violations per year is simply too many. All motorists are reminded to pay attention to the yellow school bus, its flashing red lights and stop sign, and to stop to ensure the safety of each child boarding and exiting the school bus each day. We encourage each state to raise awareness on this important safety issue and to do everything possible to ensure motorists put the safety of school children first,” stated NASDPTS President Mike Stier.
This survey has been conducted annually since 2011, with the exception of 2020 and 2021 when the survey was not conducted due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and the resulting school closures across the country. The survey results have brought greater attention by state and federal policy makers to the need for greater safety countermeasures. In recent years, several states have increased penalties for violations, authorized the use of photo evidence for issuing citations, or enacted other measures designed to deter this dangerous practice.
Complete information on the project, including the detailed results from the 2025 survey, and prior years, can be found at https://www.nasdpts.org/stop-arm-violations.
