Florida is the newest state to allow the use of the Gardian Angel school bus lighting system from Toledo, Ohio, to keep young pedestrians safer as they load and unload the school bus.

This technology is currently available as optional equipment in 25 other states.

“The Sunshine State is about to get a lot brighter and safer.  We are absolutely thrilled to work with Florida,” said Gardian Angel, LLC founder Steve Gardner.

The Gardian Angel school bus lighting system may be added by Florida school districts, but it is the district's sole responsibility to ensure the technology does not adversely affect safety or conflict with any state or federal specifications.

The system uses white LED flood lights which are mounted at the front of the bus which shines out the side of the front of the bus to illuminate the path for students to cross the street, and to make the students more visible to motorists.

 The unit is aimed at the ground and automatically turns on when the red lights are activated, then turns off when the bus entrance door is closed.

Gardian Angel is an exterior lighting system that attaches to a school bus with the goal of helping combat stop-arm violations and minimizing the safety risks to student riders.

It is designed to help drivers clearly see students in darkness, provide a lit path for pedestrians walking toward the bus, and enable cars in front of and behind the bus to clearly see pedestrians walking toward the school bus in darkness.

The system prevents stop-arm violations and minimizes the public safety risks to students who rely on school transportation.

This proactive school bus safety feature is meant to reduce the rates of illegal passing incidents, as well as to help the driver see better in the dark. It decreases the unloading and loading zone injuries and/or fatalities, and aids in the prevention of school bus pedestrian crashes.

Gardian Angel reminds customers to check with state requirements for specific mounting locations, since they may vary.