The Brookfield Local School District is proud to be the first in the state of Ohio to pilot a new school bus stop arm extension through Bus Gates. The arm is equipped with red LED lights and extends out 4.5 feet from the side of the bus. The idea is to make it harder for drivers to “drive around” a stopped bus and make every bus stop safer. District Transportation Supervisor Carla Stearns reached out to the company about the product after seeing another district in a neighboring state test the arm. She says, “A lot of drivers simply ignore the red stop lights when they are activated during one of our bus stops. We hope that this new stop arm will reduce the number of drivers who pass our buses when red stop lights are active, and increase safety for our students as they board and exit the bus.” Once the pilot period is over district administrators will meet to discuss the arm’s effectiveness and if it’s financially feasible to put them on all buses.
The diagram below is a reminder of when drivers should stop for a school bus in Ohio.