toXcel
7140 Heritage Village Plaza
Gainesville, VA 20155
Phone: (703) 754-0248 Fax: (703) 310-6950
January 7, 2024
Officer Isaac Furnari
Newport Beach Police Department
Newport Beach, CA 92660
RE: Illegal Passing of Stopped School Buses – High Visibility Enforcement Pilot Participation Selection/Memorandum of Understanding under NHTSA Contract 22C-000002 Dear Officer Furnari,
Thank you for applying for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Illegal Passing of Stopped School Buses – High Visibility Enforcement Pilot Project. Upon review of your application, the Newport Beach Police Department has been selected to receive reimbursement of up to $57,800 for conducting high visibility enforcement (HVE) focused on the illegal passing of stopped school buses.
Toxcel LLC is managing this effort under contract to NHTSA (Contract 22C-000002). All communication for this project will go through Toxcel and Toxcel will handle all funding reimbursements.
Please review the attached information and return a signed memorandum of understanding (see page 3 for the MOU) to me ([email protected]) as soon as possible. Once signed you can begin reimbursable HVE efforts to prevent the illegal passing of stopped school buses from January to June 2025. The attached information outlines directions for submitting invoices for reimbursement and deployment reporting requirements.
I am excited to work with you to help stop the illegal passing of stopped school buses in Newport Beach.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Symoun
Vice President, Engineering and Behavioral Sciences
Toxcel LLC
703-754-0248 x8208
[email protected]
Attachment B
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Background
Through a NHTSA-funded research project, Toxcel LLC is developing a toolkit to help law enforcement agencies (LEA) implement high visibility enforcement (HVE) campaigns to address the illegal passing of stopped school buses. HVE combines enforcement, visibility elements, and a publicity strategy to educate the public and promote voluntary compliance with the law. While HVE campaigns are frequently used to address traffic safety concerns such as seat belt usage and impaired driving, this will be the first NHTSA-sponsored HVE campaign focused on illegal school bus passing.
According to the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation, approximately 242,000 motorists across the United States illegally passed a stopped school bus in a single day during the 2022- 2023 school year. Projected across a 180-day school year, that is more than 43.5 million stop-arm violations. These are preventable incidents that put children at significant risk; injuries and fatalities to children occur more often outside or near a school bus than inside due to motorists failing to heed the stop-arm warning.
Objective
The objective of this effort is to pilot test a toolkit that was developed by Toxcel to help law enforcement agencies conduct HVE for the illegal passing of stopped school buses. The pilot test will involve selected law enforcement agencies conducting HVE between January-June 2025, with the toolkit available to guide them in their HVE efforts. Agencies will be reimbursed for their HVE efforts related to this project, will be required to submit deployment reports, and will be asked for input on the toolkit at the end of the pilot period that may be used to enhance or improve the toolkit. When finalized, the toolkit will be made broadly available.
Implementation Support Processes and Procedures
Eligible Expenses
Participating LEAs will be reimbursed up to their budgeted amount for officer overtime associated with the HVE deployments and administrative time to log and report the HVE data, as well as any related equipment costs that do not exceed 15% of the overall HVE budget.
Reporting
A deployment report template is attached. Deployment reports are preferred by the Friday of the week following the deployments (e.g., The report for deployments that occur during week 1 of the month is due by Friday of week 2). Invoices, supporting receipts, and proof of overtime rates are due bi-monthly, to align with the Newport Beach Police Department’s payroll schedule. If necessary, deployment reports can also be submitted on a bi-monthly schedule with the invoices. Reimbursement is dependent upon Toxcel’s receipt of the deployment reports. Submit all information to [email protected].
Reimbursement will occur within 30 days of receipt of the invoice if all requested information is provided.
The report includes a summary section at the beginning to summarize all deployments that occurred in the reporting week, as well as separate sections to document information about each individual deployment. Complete this report with as much information and detail as possible.
Invoicing
An invoice template is attached. This invoice must be submitted along with receipts for any purchases and proof of overtime rates (such as paystubs. Personal information can be redacted). Instructions for completing the invoice are included on the first tab of the file. The invoice template on the second tab.
Timeframe
HVE deployments may begin upon receipt of the signed MOU and should be completed by June 30, 2025.
Attachment B
12-5
PLEASE PROVIDE ON AGENCY LETTERHEAD (MINUS THIS HEADER)
DATE
Jennifer Symoun
toXcel
Illegal Passing of Stopped School Buses – High Visibility Enforcement Pilot Support Coordinator (under contract to NHTSA)
7140 Heritage Village Plaza
Gainesville, VA 20155
Dear Jennifer:
The Newport Beach Police Department agrees to follow the requirements for being reimbursed up to $58,000 for allowable expenses for conducting high visibility enforcement (HVE) focused on the illegal passing of stopped school buses. We will provide deployment reports by the Friday of the week after each week of HVE deployments. Invoices and supporting backup for invoiced amounts will be submitted bi-monthly. We understand that information and lessons learned captured from our efforts may be included in updating the Toolkit and the project final report and we will have the opportunity to review the Toolkit and report prior to its publishing by NHTSA.
We are committed to this effort and able to allocate the time and resources required to receive funding assistance.
Our primary point of contact for this effort is:
Name
Agency
Address
Phone
Email
Sincerely,
x
(Signature)
NAME:
(Type or Print)
TITLE:
Attachment B
12-6