Survey Justification

Justification for School Bus Passing Survey Items

Items 1-2: Screening

Item Number 1 (Age)

The survey is only for drivers 18 years of age and older. Age will be used for classification purposes.

Item Number 2 (Driver Status)

The survey is only for people who currently drive.

Items 3-9: Driver Characteristics

Item Number 3 (Driving Frequency)

Driving frequency will be used for classification purposes.

Item Number 4 (Driver License Status)

Driver license status will be used for classification purposes.

Item Number 5 (Driver’s License State)

State of licensure will be used for classification purposes. Also, the correctness of participant responses for some items will be analyzed based on the school bus passing laws in effect in the State where the participant is currently licensed to drive.

Item Number 6 (State Most Miles)

State of most driving will be used for classification purposes. Some drivers may conduct most of their driving in a State other than the one in which they are currently licensed. When there is a mismatch between responses to items 4 and 5, the correctness of participant responses to some items will be coded separately based on the laws of both States.

Item Number 7 (Motor Vehicle Type)

Motor vehicle type will be used for classification purposes.

Item Number 8 (Exposure to School Buses on Road)

Exposure to school buses on the road will be used for classification purposes.

Item Number 9 (Confidence in Knowledge of State Traffic Laws)

Confidence in knowledge of traffic laws will be used for classification purposes.

Items 10-16: Knowledge of Laws Related to the Passing of Stopped School Buses

Item Number 10 (2-Lane Undivided Roadway; Rear Approach to Bus)

This knowledge item covers a driver on a two-lane undivided roadway approaching a stopped school bus from the rear. The law is operationally the same across all States, but specific wording varies. The National Survey will provide a nationwide estimate of knowledge. The Community Survey¹ will determine if knowledge changes after exposure to the program activities.

Item Number 11 (2-Lane Undivided Roadway; Front Approach)

This knowledge item covers a driver on a two-lane undivided roadway approaching a stopped school bus from the front. The law is operationally the same across all States, but specific wording varies. The National Survey will provide a nationwide estimate of knowledge. The Community Survey will determine if knowledge changes after exposure to the program activities.

Item Number 12 (4-Lane Undivided Roadway; Rear Approach)

This knowledge items covers a driver on a four-lane undivided roadway approaching a stopped school bus from the rear. The law is operationally the same across all States, but specific wording varies. The National Survey will provide a nationwide estimate of knowledge. The Community Survey will determine if knowledge changes after exposure to the program activities.

Item Number 13 (4-Lane Undivided Roadway; Front Approach)

This knowledge item covers a driver on a four-lane undivided roadway approaching a stopped school bus from the front. Laws vary in a few States as to whether a driver must stop in this situation. The National Survey will provide a nationwide estimate of correct knowledge based on each State’s law. The Community Survey will determine if knowledge changes after exposure to the program activities.

Item Number 14 (4-Lane Divided Roadway; Front Approach)

This knowledge item covers a driver on a four-lane roadway divided by a clearly discernible barrier approaching a stopped school bus from the front. Laws vary by State as to whether a driver must stop in this situation. The National Survey will provide a nationwide estimate of correct knowledge based on each State’s law. The Community Survey will determine if knowledge changes after exposure to the program activities.

Item Number 15 (School Driveway; Rear Approach)

This knowledge item covers a driver approaching from the rear a school bus stopped in a school driveway. Laws vary by State as to whether a driver must stop in this situation. The National Survey will provide a nationwide estimate of correct knowledge based on each State’s law. The Community Survey will determine if knowledge changes after exposure to the program activities.

Item Number 16 (Yellow Lights)

This knowledge item covers a driver approaching from the rear a school bus that is moving with its yellow lights flashing. The law is operationally the same across all States, but specific wording varies. The National Survey will provide a nationwide estimate of knowledge. The Community Survey will determine if knowledge changes after exposure to the program activities.

Items 17-21: Personal Experience Passing School Buses

Item Number 17 (Ever Passed a Stopped School Bus with Red Lights Flashing and Stop Arm Extended?)

Participants who answer “yes” to this item will be asked about the circumstances of the illegal pass (or multiple passes) in Item Number 18. The National Survey will provide a nationwide estimate of the number of drivers who self-report illegal passing. The Community Survey will determine if there are changes in self-reported illegal passing after exposure to the program activities.

Item Number 18 (Circumstances of Passing Stopped School Bus)

This is a follow-up item to 17 if a person indicated illegally passing a stopped school bus. The item will provide insights as to why illegal passes are made. The National Survey will provide a nationwide estimate of self-reported circumstances. The Community Survey will determine if there are changes in circumstances reported after exposure to the program activities.

Item Number 19 (School Bus Police Enforcement Experience)

This item will provide information regarding whether participants have ever been stopped and received a citation or warning for illegally passing a stopped bus. The National Survey will provide a nationwide estimate of self-reported stops. The Community Survey will determine if there are changes in reports of such stops after exposure to the program activities.

Item Number 20 (School Bus Camera Enforcement Knowledge)

This item will provide information regarding whether participants know if automated camera enforcement of illegal school bus passing is allowed where they live. The National Survey will provide a nationwide estimate of knowledge of the permissibility of camera use on buses, and correctness can be analyzed by State. The Community Survey will determine if there are changes in reported knowledge of the permissibility of camera use after exposure to the program activities.

Item Number 21 (Ticket in mail for Passing Stopped School Bus)

This item will provide information regarding whether participants have ever received a citation in the mail based on a violation recorded by an automated camera system attached to a school bus. The National Survey will provide a nationwide estimate of self-reported citations or warnings received via mail. The Community Survey will determine if there are changes in reported receipt of citations or warnings in the mail after exposure to the program activities, which will include issuing tickets and warnings by mail.

Items 22-25: Opinion on School Bus Issues Related to the Study Objectives

Item Number 22 (Degree of Agreement with Ticketing Registered Owner for School Bus Violation)

This question will provide information on driver attitudes towards the emerging enforcement approach of ticketing the registered owner of a vehicle that illegally passes a school bus regardless of who was driving. The National Survey will provide a nationwide estimate of degree of agreement. The Community Survey will determine if there are changes in opinion after exposure to the program activities.

Item Number 23 (Opinion of Reason for Most Illegal School Bus Passes)

This item provides information as to why drivers think others are illegally passing school buses. The National Survey will provide a nationwide estimate of opinion. The Community Survey will determine if there are changes in opinion after exposure to the program activities.

Item Number 24 (Opinion of Prevention Approaches for Illegal School Bus Passing)

This item gathers driver opinion on the best way to prevent a driver from illegally passing a school bus. The National Survey will provide a nationwide estimate of opinion. The Community Survey will determine if there are changes in opinion after exposure to the program activities.

Item Number 25 (Opinion of Best Penalty for Illegally Passing Stopped School Bus)

This question gathers information on public opinion about what the penalty should be for illegally passing a stopped school bus. The National Survey will provide a nationwide estimate of opinion. The Community Survey will determine if there are changes in opinion after exposure to the program activities.

Items 26-28: Exposure to School Buses

Item Number 26 (Children Age)

Number of children will be used for classification purposes. If an individual has any children between the age of 4 and 18 they will be asked the next question about the children riding a bus to school.

Item Number 27 (Children School Bus Use)

The number of children a respondent has that currently ride a school bus will be used for classification purposes.

Item Number 28 (Personal School Bus Experience)

Whether the participant ever road a school bus themselves will be used for classification purposes.

Items 29-30: Campaign Awareness

Item Number 29 (Awareness of Program)

This item will assess to what extent a participant has recently seen or heard anything about getting a citation for illegally passing a school bus. Respondents who indicate they recently saw/heard something will go to the next questions about the information source and message content. The National Survey will provide a nationwide estimate of awareness of school bus passing education programs. The Community Survey will determine if there are changes in reported awareness after the program activities.

Item Number 30 (Information Source/Description of Program)

This item asks for the source of the media message if a person indicated they recently saw or heard something about illegal passing of school buses. The National Survey will provide a nationwide estimate of message sources. The Community Survey will determine if there are changes in reported message sources after exposure to the program activities. This question also contains a free recall component, so the participant can indicate what specific media message related to illegal passing of school buses they encountered. The National Survey will provide a nationwide estimate of program messages recalled. The Community Survey will determine if there are changes in recall after exposure to the program activities as well as the relative penetration of the media forms used.

Items 31-32: Penalty Knowledge

Item Number 31 (Penalty)

This item assesses participant knowledge of penalties associated with illegal passing of school buses in their area. The National Survey will provide a nationwide estimate of correct knowledge of penalties as prescribed by State law. The Community Survey will determine if there are changes in knowledge after exposure to the program activities based on State and local laws in the test communities.

Item Number 32 (Driver’s License Points)

This item assesses participant knowledge of whether a driver can get points on his/her license for illegally passing a school bus in their State. The National Survey will provide a nationwide estimate of correct knowledge of penalties as prescribed by State law. The Community Survey will determine if there are changes in knowledge after exposure to the program activities based on State and local laws in the test communities.

Items 33-38: Demographics (Response Categories Conformed with AmeriSpeak Panel Data Categories where Applicable)

Item Number 33 (Sex)

Sex will be used for classification purposes.

Item Number 34 (Marital Status)

Marital status will be used for classification purposes.

Item Number 35 (Hispanic or Latino)

Hispanic ethnicity will be used for classification purposes.

Item Number 36 (Race)

Race will be used for classification purposes.

Item Number 37 (Education)

Highest level of education attained will be used for classification purposes.

Item Number 38 (Zip Code)

Zip code will be used for classification purposes. Zip code supports multiple types of analyses by region of the country, type of area of residence (e.g., rural, suburban, urban), and inferred socioeconomic data in the National Survey. Knowing ZIP Code also permits separating people local to the area from those from out of town in the Community survey.

1 The Community Survey will be administered in two test communities. The study sites will be cities or counties of approximately 100,000 to 300,000 population served by no more than two law enforcement agencies. They will have existing State or local laws that permit the use of camera enforcement of school bus passing violations by sending a citation to the registered owner of the violating vehicle.