At the request of the Australian Transport Council, ARRB Transport Research was commissioned by Austroads in 1999 to undertake a review of school bus safety in Australia. That study reviewed current practice and research in relation to school bus safety and identified new or proven safety measures that may be used as part of a national approach to school bus safety. The key outcome was the development of a draft National School Bus Safety Action Plan, which sought to provide a set of short, medium and long term measures designed to reduce the incidence and severity of crashes involving school children that were associated with bus travel. The current study reviewed the draft National School Bus Safety Action Plan based on an assessment of updated crash analyses, research findings and initiatives in place across Australian jurisdictions. The crash analysis confirmed the findings of the original report and highlighted that children are at greatest risk of injury or death when attempting to cross the road after a lighting from the bus. The study reported on initiatives being implemented by jurisdictions to improve the safety of school bus travel. (Author/publisher)
Abstract