A school transportation-related crash is a crash which involves, either directly or indirectly, a school bus body vehicle, or a non-school bus functioning as a school bus, transporting children to or from school or school-related activities. Since 2000 there were 371,104 fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes. Of those, 1,245 (0.34%) were classified as school transportation-related. Since 2000, 1,386 people have died in school transportation-related crashes– an average of 139 fatalities per year. Occupants of school transportation vehicles accounted for 8 percent of the fatalities, and nonoccupants (pedestrians, bicyclists, etc.) accounted for 20 percent of the fatalities. Most of the people who lost their lives in these crashes (72%) were occupants of other vehicles involved. Since 2000, 130 school-age pedestrians (younger than 19) have died in school transportation-related crashes. Over two-thirds (67%) were struck by school buses, 6 percent by vehicles functioning as school buses, and 27 percent by other vehicles involved in the crashes. There were 56 (43%) school-age pedestrians killed in school transportation-related crashes between the ages of 5 and 7. (Author/publisher)
Abstract