2026 NASDPTS Survey: Data Shows Further Reduction of Illegal Passing

New data is in! School bus stop-arm passings are down to 38.4 million violations per year, about a 2.3% decrease from last school year — but passings on the right side of the bus are higher than ever.

Amanda Huggett・Executive Editor

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July 21, 2026

While we saw a decrease in illegal passings for the second year in a row, the problem is far from resolved.

Credit:

School Bus Fleet

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The 2026 NASDPTS survey reports a reduction in illegal school bus stop-arm passings.
Violations have decreased to 38.4 million per year, reflecting a 2.3% drop.
This data comparison is based on figures from the previous school year.

*Summarized by AI

Today, at the 2026 National School Transportation Association (NSTA) Annual Meeting & Convention held in Denver, the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) released the results of its 14th survey on illegal passing of stopped school buses.

In 39 states throughout the country and the District of Columbia, approximately 26.2% of the nation’s school bus drivers participated in a one-day survey to report motorists who passed their stopped school buses.

In the newest survey, 101,334 school bus drivers reported that 56,024 vehicles passed their buses illegally on a single day during the 2025-2026 school year. Adjusting for 100% of the school bus drivers in the U.S., that means we would have seen just over 213,800 illegal passings each day. Projected across an 180-day school year, these results point to more than 38.4 million violations per year among America’s motoring public.

As the projected violations for the 2024-2025 school year were 39.3 million, and the projected violations for the 2023-2024 school year were 45.2 million, there is a trend in the reduction of the number of illegal passings.

“While we are pleased to see yet another reduction in the number of illegal passings of stopped school buses, 38.4 million illegal passings is still entirely too many. The National State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services continues to encourage each state to raise awareness on this important safety issue and to do everything possible to ensure motorists put the safety of school children first,” stated NASDPTS President Mike Stier.

What the Historical Numbers Show

Line graph showing the average number of illegal school bus passings per bus per day reported in the NASDPTS Stop-Arm Passing Survey from 2011 to 2026, with rates declining to 0.55 in 2026 after peaking at 1.0 in 2024. — Over the past 14 years the survey has been conducted, this year shows the lowest number of passings reported yet, at just 0.55 average passings per day per bus.
Credit:
NASDPTS/School Bus Fleet

14 Years of Survey Results

Year	Passings reported	Drivers participating	Avg passings per bus per day	% of passings made on the right side
2011	76,685	111,914	0.69	3.1%
2012	88,025	99930	0.88	2%
2013	85,279	108436	0.79	2.1%
2014	75,966	97265	0.78	2%
2015	78,518	102,371	0.77	2%
2016	74,421	96540	0.77	1.7%
2017	77,972	104,468	0.75	-
2018	83,944	106,306	0.79	2.14%
2019	95,319	130,963	0.73	2.23%
2020	-	-	-	-
2021	-	-	-	-
2022	51,593	79,859	0.65	2.62%
2023	62,482	94,581	0.66	3.1%
2024	66,322	98,065	0.68	3.26%
2025	67,258	114,239	0.59	3.13%
2026	56,024	101,334	0.55	3.45%

*Survey not conducted in 2020 or 2021 due to COVID-19.

Note: The number of incidents is likely far greater than reported since not all school bus drivers participated in the survey.

Right-hand passings on the rise

One troubling takeaway from this year's results: The percentage of illegal passings that occurred on the right-side of the school bus is at its highest since the survey has been conducted, with 3.45% on the right instead of the left this year.

Pre-pandemic, there was an average of 2.15% of passings on the right; post-pandemic, it averages 3.11%.

About the Survey

This survey has been conducted annually since 2011, with the exception of 2020 and 2021 when the survey was not conducted due to COVID-19. In recent years, several states have increased penalties for violations, authorized the use of photo evidence for issuing citations, or enacted other measures designed to deter this dangerous practice.

More info on the project, including detailed results from the 2026 survey and prior years, can be found online here.

Topics:NASDPTS stop arm running/illegal passing survey Bus Safety Safety

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