School Bus Statistics
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School buses are the safest form of highway transportation.
There are about 444,000 public school buses that travel approximately 5 billion miles each year. Each day school
buses carry around 20 million students to school and school
related events.
(Accident Facts 1996, National Safety Council)
In 1996, 10 school bus occupants were killed in crashes
(2 drivers, 8 passengers).
In 1996, 23 pedestrians were killed in school bus-related crashes.
About two-thirds of school bus-related fatalities happen
outside the bus.
Recent studies in Florida and Illinois found almost 10,000
incidents (per day per state) of motorists illegally passing stopped for school buses that were loading or unloading children.
In Florida , 4.4 percent of the vehicles passed the school bus
on the door side of the bus.
Why No Safety Belts?
On school buses, occupant protection is provided by “compartmentalization”, not safety belts. Compartmentalization is the name for the protective envelope created by strong, closely-spaced seats that have energy-absorbing high back seats that protect occupants in the event of a crash.
School buses also have other features that contribute to the high level of safety they provide each occupant. Features such as emergency exits, roof structure, fuel systems, and body joint strength make the bus stronger, larger, heavier, and safer than most other vehicles on the road today.
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