Pennsylvania SR 179: A Resolution designating the week of October 20 through 24, 2025, as "School Bus Safety Week" in Pennsylvania.

Bill Text

PRINTER'S NO. 1265
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No. 179
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY MARTIN, J. WARD, CULVER, BAKER, VOGEL, PHILLIPS-
HILL, HAYWOOD, BOSCOLA, COMITTA, CAPPELLETTI, COSTA AND
MILLER, OCTOBER 21, 2025
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, OCTOBER 21, 2025
A RESOLUTION
Designating the week of October 20 through 24, 2025, as "School
Bus Safety Week" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, The Department of Transportation (PennDOT)
participates in "National School Bus Safety Week" in conjunction
with the National Association of Pupil Transportation; and
WHEREAS, Motorists must stop 10 feet away from school buses
that have their red lights flashing and stop arm extended; and
WHEREAS, Motorists must stop when they are behind a school
bus, meeting the bus or approaching an intersection where a bus
is stopped; and
WHEREAS, Motorists following or traveling alongside a school
bus must also stop until the red lights have stopped flashing,
the stop arm is withdrawn and all children have reached safety;
and
WHEREAS, If physical barriers such as grassy medians, guide
rails or concrete median barriers separate oncoming traffic from
the school bus, motorists in the opposing lanes may proceed
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without stopping; and
WHEREAS, PennDOT provides helpful tips to motorists, parents
and students to help ensure school bus safety; and
WHEREAS, According to the most updated statistics provided by
the Pennsylvania School Bus Association (PSBA), each year
approximately 450,000 school buses travel an estimated 4.3
billion miles transporting roughly 23.5 million students to and
from school and school-related activities; and
WHEREAS, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) reported that from 2014 to 2023, there were 971 fatal
school-transportation-related crashes, resulting in 1,079
fatalities, averaging 108 deaths annually; and
WHEREAS, These figures reflect a slight decrease compared to
the 2013-2022 reporting period, when the NHTSA recorded 1,009
such crashes among 326,149 total nationwide fatal crashes; and
WHEREAS, Average fatalities in school-transportation-related
crashes remained at 108 annually for 2014-2023, compared to 113
annually during 2011-2020; and
WHEREAS, Of the fatalities from 2014-2023, 10% were occupants
of school transportation vehicles (113 fatalities), 20% were
nonoccupants such as pedestrians and bicyclists (211 fatalities,
including 171 pedestrians), and 70% were occupants of other
vehicles (755 fatalities); and
WHEREAS, The report stated that 46% of school-transportation-
related fatal crashes occurred in rural areas, with the
remainder in urban settings; and
WHEREAS, Studies affirm that school buses represent the
safest way for children to travel to and from school-related
activities; and
WHEREAS, The outstanding safety record of school buses is due
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to several factors, including the enhanced vehicle safety
standards that school buses must meet, the recognizable color of
school buses and the ability of school bus drivers to utilize
school bus lighting and signage to control traffic when children
are getting on or off the school bus; and
WHEREAS, School bus drivers are trained to provide direction
to children when crossing the road in front of the school bus,
which also contributes to their safety record; and
WHEREAS, PSBA provides additional resources to help ensure
the safety of our school buses, school bus drivers and student
passengers; and
WHEREAS, School bus drivers are directly responsible for the
safety of Pennsylvania's children as they work to bring them to
their destinations safely and on time; and
WHEREAS, PSBA reported a 10-15% driver shortage in 2024,
which was an improvement from 20-25% in 2023, however, the
shortage is expected to worsen as more drivers retire; and
WHEREAS, In recent years, the General Assembly has advanced
measures to boost bus driver recruitment and enhance student
safety, underscoring its commitment to protecting school-age
children; and
WHEREAS, On October 23, 2023, Act 19 was signed into law in
Pennsylvania, extending and enhancing the school bus stop arm
enforcement program established under Act 159 of 2018; and
WHEREAS, On June 27, 2025, Act 4 was signed into law in
Pennsylvania, qualifying more potential school bus drivers who
utilize hearing aids; and
WHEREAS, The Senate recently passed and sent to the House of
Representatives Senate Bill 65, increasing the required stopping
distance for vehicles from 10 to 15 feet when a school bus is
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stopped with signals activated and establishes a tiered penalty
system for repeat offenders; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate designate the week of October 20
through 24, 2025, as "School Bus Safety Week" in Pennsylvania;
and be i