COLUMBUS, Ohio — Transportation Safety Products Inc. will roll out a new school bus safety feature to alert students if a vehicle is attempting to pass the bus.

The new feature, which is designed to work in conjunction with the Child Safety Alarm System, will be introduced at the NAPT Summit later this month.

The feature includes a panic button that the school bus driver can push if vehicles pass beyond a certain point while the bus is stopped to load or unload students. The panic button activates an audible warning and emergency strobe lights. The audible warning can be programmed with a message that will warn the child of an approaching vehicle.

The feature works with the Child Safety Alarm System, which talks to and alerts children when the bus is getting ready to move. It can be programmed in any language or message devised by the school district.

Company officials said that the system, along with the panic button feature, is simple to install and cost effective for equipping an entire fleet of school buses.

The Child Safety Alarm System has been in operation on school buses at Columbus (Ohio) City Schools and in South Carolina for many years, as well as at various other districts around the country.

Transportation Safety Products was founded in 1992 by Dean Rose, a former school bus mechanic with Columbus City Schools who developed the Child Safety Alarm System.