A school-transportation-related crash is a crash that 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 2003 there were 348,253 fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes. Of those, 1,222 (0.35%) were classified as school-transportation-related. Since 2003, there have been 1,353 people killed in school-transportation-related crashes–an average of 135 fatalities per year. Occupants of school transportation vehicles accounted for 8 percent of the fatalities, and non-occupants (pedestrians, bicyclists, etc.) accounted for 21 percent of the fatalities. Most (71%) of the people who lost their lives in these crashes were occupants of other vehicles involved. Since 2003, 119 school-age pedestrians (younger than 19) have died in school-transportation-related crashes. Sixty-five percent were struck by school buses, 5 percent by vehicles functioning as school buses, and 30 percent by other vehicles (passenger cars, light trucks and vans, large trucks, and motorcycles, etc.) involved in the crashes. There were 42 (35%) school-age pedestrians 5 to 7 years old killed in school transportation-related crashes and a similar number and percentage who were 8 to 13 years old. (Author/publisher)
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