WASHINGTON, D.C. — Safety issues around school buses will be the focus of a meeting held by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) here next month.

The event continues a series of NHTSA-led discussions on pupil transportation safety. The agency’s previous two meetings focused on seat belts on school buses.

The Dec. 1 meeting, dubbed “School Transportation Safety — Thinking Outside the Bus,” will cover such topics as crash trends, pedestrians around the bus, illegal passing of school buses, school bus driver distraction, research on stop-arm cameras, and vehicle technology. The agenda also includes updates on lap-shoulder belts in school buses.

Among those invited to attend will be the three national school bus industry associations — NAPT, NASDPTS, and NSTA — and representatives of the fields of behavioral and engineering sciences, traffic and highway safety, and public health.

NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind is slated to give an introduction, which will be followed by presentations and panel discussions.

According to NHTSA, the meeting will be limited to invited participants because of space limitations, but it will be available for live public viewing on the NHTSA website, www.nhtsa.gov. The event is scheduled to run from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Dec. 1.

For more information, see NHTSA's notice in the Federal Register.