INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s latest stop-arm violation survey shows encouraging signs of improvement in driver compliance around school buses, but transportation safety experts caution that the data still reveal an alarming level of danger for students loading and unloading each school day.
The annual statewide survey conducted by the Indiana Department of Education’s Office of School Transportation documented 1,042 stop arm violations during a single reporting day in April 2026. At first glance, that appears to represent dramatic progress compared with the 2,149 violations recorded in the 2023 survey.
However, transportation analysts say the raw totals alone do not tell the full story.
When adjusted for the number of buses participating in the survey, the decline becomes far less dramatic. In 2023, Indiana recorded approximately 0.335 violations per bus. In 2026, the rate declined to 0.280 violations per bus, a reduction of only about 16 percent after accounting for participation levels.
“This remains a major public safety issue,” said Dr. Jim Hanna, Superintendent of Rossville Consolidated School District and Chairperson of the Indiana State School Bus Committee. “Even today, Indiana is still seeing roughly one illegal pass for every three to four buses operating during the survey period. While we are encouraged by some of the progress, these numbers demonstrate that student safety around school buses must remain a statewide priority.”
The statewide survey included 126 districts and 3,719 buses in 2026, down significantly from 195 districts and 6,408 buses that participated in 2023. Because of that decline in participation, experts warn against assuming the problem has been cut in half.
The data instead suggests that driver behavior patterns around school buses have remained remarkably consistent over time.
One of the clearest findings involves the time of day when violations occur.
For the past five consecutive surveys, more than half of all stop arm violations occurred during afternoon dismissal routes. In 2026, approximately 54 percent of violations occurred during PM routes, while another 43 percent occurred during morning pickup times.
Mid-day violations accounted for only about 2 percent of incidents statewide.
Transportation officials say the pattern is not surprising.
“The afternoon route environment is often the most dangerous period of the day,” said Mike LaRocco, Director of the Indiana Department of Education Office of School Transportation. “Drivers are frequently distracted, in a hurry to get home from work, or simply not paying attention to the warning lights and stop arms on school buses.”
Morning routes continue to present significant risks as well, largely due to commuter traffic overlapping with school transportation schedules.
Another troubling trend involves where vehicles are illegally passing buses.
The overwhelming majority of violations continue to occur on the left side of the bus, the side associated with oncoming traffic. In 2026, nearly 98 percent of all reported violations involved vehicles passing on the left side.
Experts say this is especially concerning because left-side violations place students crossing the roadway directly in danger.
The data also shows that approximately four out of every five violations occur near the front of the school bus rather than behind it. That pattern has remained consistent for years.
“This is the highest-risk zone for students,” Dr. Hanna explained. “Children are often crossing in front of the bus where visibility and driver decision-making become critically important. One distracted driver can change lives forever.”
While the long-term trend does show some improvement, the historical data demonstrates how persistent the problem has been statewide.
Indiana recorded more than 3,000 one-day stop arm violations in both 2015 and 2018. Even with the lower 2026 totals, the state still estimates approximately 187,560 illegal passes annually based on the one-day survey methodology.
Transportation leaders credit several factors for the modest improvement seen in recent years, including expanded public awareness campaigns, increased use of stop arm camera systems, enhanced driver education, and stronger enforcement efforts by law enforcement agencies.
Still, transportation professionals caution that the underlying behaviors causing the violations have not significantly changed.
The data consistently shows the same risk patterns year after year:
• Afternoon dismissal routes remain the highest-risk time period.
• Left-side passing continues to dominate violations.
• Most illegal passes occur near the front of the school bus.
• Traffic density and commuter impatience remain major contributing factors.
For school transportation officials, the findings reinforce the importance of continued public education and enforcement efforts.
“Every stop arm violation represents a potential tragedy,” LaRocco said. “The numbers may be improving slowly, but the risk to students remains very real every single day.”
The Indiana stop arm violation survey is conducted annually through the Indiana Department of Education Office of School Transportation and includes participation from school corporations across the state. The survey is designed to document illegal passes of stopped school buses while loading and unloading students.