In less than a year, the Michigan Association of Pupil Transportation will release its second illegal passing awareness campaign, this time catered to the NFL audience. <\/p>\n
Katrina Morris, executive director of MAPT, said the association recently filmed its latest public service announcement with former Detroit Lions<\/a> offensive tackle Lomas Brown. The PSA is expected to be released in early August, timed with the start of the back-to-school season.<\/p>\n The video follows MAPT\u2019s 2025 illegal passing campaign featuring NASCAR<\/a> driver Ryan Preece, which was filmed in partnership with ROUSH CleanTech<\/a>. Morris said the goal of these PSAs is to reach more audiences than those in school transportation.<\/p>\n \u201cThe last one, it [had]125,000 views,\u201d Morris said of the Preece PSA. \u201cSo, you know that\u2019s not transportation people. The NFL has a huge voice, too, and so we\u2019re hoping to get more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n Related:\u00a0WATCH: Michigan Association Releases Illegal Passing PSA for School Bus Safety Week<\/a> The new campaign came together after Morris said she mentioned wanting to connect with someone in the Detroit Lions organization. An MAPT board member helped make the connection through his father-in-law, who is retired from the NFL<\/a> and the Detroit Lions.<\/p>\n The PSA was filmed over two days, with scenes shot in Ludington and Detroit. Brown also visited students in Ludington through an educational program that helps students regulate, cope and reintegrate into their general education districts. Morris said the students had learned about Brown before his visit and were excited to meet him.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was phenomenal with their kids,\u201d Morris said. \u201cSigned autographs on shirts \u2026 and took pictures with the kids, so it was really neat and amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n PSA Blends Football Humor with Seriousness of Illegal Passing Issue<\/p>\n The PSA uses humor and football references, as well as a nod to the NFC North Division. For instance, in one scene, a child asks for a green and yellow mohawk, a nod to the Green Bay Packers<\/a>. In another, a man asks for a bear tattoo, ala the Chicago Bears<\/a>. In another, a couple appears to be rushing into marriage while wearing Minnesota Vikings<\/a> purple and gold.<\/p>\n Brown responds to each scenario with, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t rush into that.\u201d<\/p>\n The lighthearted banter turns serious at the school bus stop. \u201cBut here\u2019s where it really matters: No rushing when the red lights are flashing, there\u2019s no passing,\u201d Brown says in the PSA.<\/p>\n Morris added that a combination of humor and urgency is intentional. Like the video with Preece, she noted that the goal is to create a message that people will want to watch, while also reinforcing the most important safety rules for motorists, to stop for school buses when their reg lights are flashing and stop arm is extended.<\/p>\n Morris said Brown understood the importance of the campaign after seeing a recent news story about a close call involving a student.<\/p>\n \u201cHe and his wife were watching TV a couple days before we film, and one of our school districts had a really close call where this car just came flying past and this kid was going to cross the road,\u201d Morris said. \u201cHe said it really resonated and obviously made it a little bit more important to get this done.\u201d<\/p>\n Related:\u00a0Florida Officials Stress School Bus Stop Safety After Illegal Passer Hits Student<\/a> Illegal Passing PSA Builds on Racing-themed Video<\/p>\n MAPT\u2019s first illegal passing PSA with Preece was released during National School Bus Safety Week in October 2025 and can only be run through the end of this calendar year. The new PSA with Brown, however, does not have the same restrictions.<\/p>\n Morris said sponsors again helped make the latest PSA possible, including several that also supported the racing campaign. The current PSA was sponsored by the National School Transportation Association, the National Association of Pupil Transportation and the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, as well as state organizations such as New York, Texas, and Indiana. First Light, IC Bus and Dean Transportation also sponsored the PSA.<\/p>\n She said some sponsors also committed funding specifically for airtime, which could help expand the campaign\u2019s reach beyond social media.<\/p>\n The campaign\u2019s momentum may not stop here. Morris said MAPT is already looking toward the music industry as the next avenue for reaching a broader audience.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s obviously a need for this, and there\u2019s a want for it, which is good,\u201d Morris said. \u201cAnd hopefully there won\u2019t be a need or a want for it after a while. But right now, we have to do something for the kids.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In less than a year, the Michigan Association of Pupil Transportation will release its second illegal passing awareness…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":934458,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2071],"tags":[124199,146,113,2506,7,124200,147,957,6,2679,2877],"class_list":["post-934457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-detroit-lions","tag-communications","tag-detroit","tag-detroit-lions","tag-detroitlions","tag-football","tag-illegal-passing","tag-lions","tag-michigan","tag-nfl","tag-safety","tag-social-media"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116849238601228391","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=934457"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934457\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/934458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=934457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=934457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=934457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Related:\u00a0Michigan Association Films Illegal School Bus Passing PSA with NASCAR\u2019s Preece<\/a><\/p>\n
Related:\u00a0\u2018If You Pass\u2019 Campaign Drives Awareness, Engagement on School Bus Safety<\/a>
Related:\u00a0(STN Podcast E305) It\u2019s Your Job: Industry Legend Dick Fischer Talks School Bus Safety, Training<\/a><\/p>\n