ANOTHER VIEWPOINT: Bus stop safety campaign nets strong results

<p>Indiana launched an aggressive campaign in the past year to make school bus stops safer around the state. In addition to simply raising awareness of the dangers associated with school bus stops, leaders collaborated on specific enforcement efforts that have underscored the need for the crackdown by shining a light on the rampant number of violations that still occur.</p><p>The results, announced by Gov. Eric Holcomb on Jan. 2, are startling.</p><p>Under a program known as SAVE (Stop Arm Violation Enforcement), 40 police agencies issued a total 2,675 citations and 1,430 warnings during a two-month period that coincided with the start of the 2019 school year. Of those thousands of citations, 453 were for school bus stop-arm violations.</p><p>The campaign was clearly time and money well-spent.</p><p>The SAVE program is funded by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. It was far from a simple exercise in public safety. It required lots of collaboration and cooperation among multiple entities.</p><p>Indiana Criminal Justice Institute Executive Director Devon McDonald, in a press release, said that the SAVE program, a first for Indiana and surrounding states, offers a unique, innovative approach to improving school bus stop safety and can be used as a model by other states.</p><p>“A critical component of the SAVE program was the collaboration that took place between the schools, bus operators and local law enforcement,” McDonald said. “Together, they identified problem areas and routes, allowing them to coordinate their efforts, and focus their attention and resources strategically.”</p><p>As a result of this special funding, officers conducted an additional 2,057 patrols and worked an extra 5,690 hours, targeting speeding, aggressive driving, stop-arm and other traffic violations along bus stops and routes.</p><p>Out of the other citations issued, 1,239 involved speeding. Other larger citation categories included failing to stop at a stop sign or stop light (173), not wearing a seat belt (134) and equipment violations (113).</p><p>The institute isn’t done yet. It begins accepting applications for the next round of SAVE grants this week.</p><p>We applaud the funding agencies for their vision and commitment to helping the state make school bus stops safer, and all those who participated and collaborated in making the program successful.</p><p><img src="//clicksapp.net/metric/?mid=&amp;amp;wid=51824&amp;amp;sid=&amp;amp;tid=8551&amp;amp;rid=LOADED&amp;amp;custom1=172.16.33.38&amp;amp;custom2=%2Fhne.local%2Ftncms%2Fadmin%2Faction%2Feditorial-asset&amp;amp;t=1578091122292&quot;" /><img src="//clicksapp.net/metric/?mid=&amp;amp;wid=51824&amp;amp;sid=&amp;amp;tid=8551&amp;amp;rid=BEFORE_OPTOUT_REQ&amp;amp;t=1578091122292&quot;" /><img src="//clicksapp.net/metric/?mid=&amp;amp;wid=51824&amp;amp;sid=&amp;amp;tid=8551&amp;amp;rid=FINISHED&amp;amp;custom1=172.16.33.38&amp;amp;t=1578091122294&quot;" /></p><p><img src="//clicksapp.net/metric/?mid=&amp;amp;wid=51824&amp;amp;sid=&amp;amp;tid=8551&amp;amp;rid=LOADED&amp;amp;custom1=172.16.33.38&amp;amp;custom2=%2Fhne.local%2Ftncms%2Fadmin%2Faction%2Feditorial-asset&amp;amp;t=1578091153290&quot;" /><img src="//clicksapp.net/metric/?mid=&amp;amp;wid=51824&amp;amp;sid=&amp;amp;tid=8551&amp;amp;rid=BEFORE_OPTOUT_REQ&amp;amp;t=1578091153291&quot;" /><img src="//clicksapp.net/metric/?mid=&amp;amp;wid=51824&amp;amp;sid=&amp;amp;tid=8551&amp;amp;rid=FINISHED&amp;amp;custom1=172.16.33.38&amp;amp;t=1578091153294&quot;" /></p><p><img src="//clicksapp.net/metric/?mid=&amp;amp;wid=51824&amp;amp;sid=&amp;amp;tid=8551&amp;amp;rid=LOADED&amp;amp;custom1=172.16.33.38&amp;amp;custom2=%2Fhne.local%2Ftncms%2Fadmin%2Faction%2Feditorial-asset&amp;amp;t=1578091168272&quot;" /><img src="//clicksapp.net/metric/?mid=&amp;amp;wid=51824&amp;amp;sid=&amp;amp;tid=8551&amp;amp;rid=BEFORE_OPTOUT_REQ&amp;amp;t=1578091168273&quot;" /><img src="//clicksapp.net/metric/?mid=&amp;amp;wid=51824&amp;amp;sid=&amp;amp;tid=8551&amp;amp;rid=FINISHED&amp;amp;custom1=172.16.33.38&amp;amp;t=1578091168275&quot;" /></p>