COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Ohio Department of Education have partnered together to to help make school buses more visible to other motorists.

The three agencies partnered with private sector businesses to create new highly-reflective "STOP" decals to be added to the rear of every school bus in the state. 

What You Need To Know

  • The Ohio State Highway Patrol, ODOT and the Ohio Department of Education have partnered to make school buses more visible to other motorists

  • New highly-reflective "STOP" decals will be added to th rear of school buses across the state

  • Troopers from the Highway Patrol's Licensing and Commercial Standard Unit saw a need for increased visibility

  • Nine school districts piloted the decals and completed a survey to report their results

Over the next few months all the buses in the state, nearly 20,000, will be outfitted with the new decals. ODOT's Sign Shop is printing the decals which will be provided to schools at no cost. 

“This simple step to make Ohio’s school buses more visible will make a big difference to prevent rear-end crashes and protect both our kids and other motorists,” said Gov. Mike DeWine in a news release. “I commend our traffic safety teams who regularly go above and beyond to look out for those traveling on Ohio’s roads.”

Troopers from the Highway Patrol's Licensing and Commercial Standard Unit saw a need for increased visibility and worked with various committees to vet the idea.

“I am beyond proud of the troopers and professional staff who worked tirelessly to see this through,” said Colonel Charles A. Jones, OSHP superintendent in a news release. “Their dedication will have a positive impact on the students who rely on buses to transport them to and from school and school-related events safely each day.”

Nine school districts piloted the decals and completed a survey to report their results. Eight districts responded that they believed the new reflective signs were more effective than the standard non-reflective STOP decal. 

“Gov. DeWine has been a constant champion for safety on our roads. When the Patrol reached out to us with this idea, we were happy to help make travel to and from school safer for our children,” said ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks.

All the districts also indicated the reflective STOP decal would improve school bus safety in dusk/dawn lighting conditions and in rain.

Those districts who participated included:

  • Centerville City Schools (Montgomery)
  • Chagrin Falls Exempted Village Schools (Cuyahoga)
  • Columbus City Schools (Franklin)
  • Dublin City Schools (Franklin)
  • Green Local Schools (Summit)
  • Huber Heights City Schools (Montgomery)
  • Marysville Exempted Village School District (Union)
  • Massillon City Schools (Stark)
  • Union-Scioto Local School District (Ross)

Since 2017, there have been 6,519 school bus-related crashes. Of these crashes, 1,421 involved a driver following too close and 712 involved a driver failing to yield.

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