In this issue:
- OTS:
- BCA: The importance of keeping data secure
- DVS: Get your teen ready to hit the road, regardless of how they learn
- Commissioner's corner: Honoring Black history
- Featured social media
 The grants fund a program to equip stop arms on school buses, like the one shown here, with cameras to stop violators.
The anticipation of waiting to hop on the bus to see friends and go to school should be fun, not scary. Kids (and their parents) shouldn't have to worry about a driver ignoring the school bus stop arm and hitting them.
Over the past two years, our Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) has been partnering with busing companies, school districts and law enforcement agencies to make sure Minnesota’s students stay safe. Even more school bus drivers across the state will have help keeping kids safe as Phase 7 of our stop arm grant program goes into effect.
- By the numbers: OTS stop arm grant funding has equipped 6,998 school buses statewide with camera systems, representing about 59 percent of the eligible school bus fleet.
- The law: Drivers need to stop at least 20 feet away from a school bus displaying red flashing lights and an extended stop arm when approaching from the rear and from the opposite direction on undivided roads.
- Consequences: Drivers who violate the law face a $500 fine. They may also face criminal charges for passing a school bus on the right, passing when a child is outside the bus, or injuring or killing a child.
Learn more here.
 Here at the Department of Public Safety, our staff are thinking of your data and ways to keep it safe.
When we talk about privacy, what comes to mind? Do you think about closing your curtains? Putting your phone upside down?
Here at the Department of Public Safety, our Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) staff think of your data and ways to keep it safe. Data Privacy Day is Jan. 28 each year, but each and every day we reflect on the many ways we keep your information safe from those who would misuse it.
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Your information: The BCA tracks many kinds of data including criminal history records, information about stolen vehicles, and details about missing or wanted people.
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Investing in security: During last year's legislative session, Minnesota lawmakers invested more than $10 million in cybersecurity and critical infrastructure upgrades at the BCA.
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Protecting your data: We're modernizing our data recovery plans and looking at how we can use the cloud to create recovery capability in a way that meets strict security standards set by the BCA and FBI.
Learn more here.
 It’s important to get ready to drive safely, no matter how you learn.
On days when it feels like you need to do everything and be everywhere, having another licensed driver around can make a huge difference. However, it only helps when you have the peace of mind of knowing that driver knows how to drive safely.
Staff in our Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS) division are dedicated to making sure drivers are ready to hit the road, but we know not everyone learns best in a traditional classroom setting. That's why we have worked with our partners across the state to offer online and home-schooling options for driver's education.
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Our goal: Make sure soon-to-be drivers know the rules of the road, regardless of how they learn.
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Standards: The material covered is the same DVS-approved curriculum received during in-person programs and undergo the same audits and checks to ensure the curriculum meets all the DVS standards.
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Sign up: Find a list of driver education courses on our website. We also have a list of approved online programs. More information on specific licensing requirements can be found on the DVS website.
Learn more here.
 Thomas Martin, right, and his invention.
February is a month of reflection as we recognize the contributions made by the African American community throughout history. It serves as a time to highlight the struggles, triumphs and cultural heritage of the Black community.
Thomas J. Martin was an important inventor in the public safety world. On March 26, 1872, he was granted a patent for his version of the fire extinguisher. The invention involved the use of pipes to carry water upward and valves in the ceiling acting as sprinklers to extinguish fires in buildings.
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