The federal government has recently issued several reports confirming the safety of transporting school children via the means of school busses. My first gut reaction is why was the safety called into question in the first place? We do hear of several bussing accidents a year that involve school children, but we hear of many more vehicle and train accidents than busses. Perhaps it is because of the amount of children that are transported daily by strangers. While attending school, I did ride the yellow school bus and so has my oldest child. I do not envy the job of a bus driver, they must be able to drive their vehicle and at the same time monitor student behavior. This could be another reason why many parents choose to transport their children to school.
Here are two interesting facts from the NHTSA’s report (http://www.nhta.dot.gov/ ):
“In 52% of all crashes involving fatalities to occupants of a school transportation vehicle, the principal point of impact was the front of the vehicle. The second most common point of impact was the right side, followed by the left side.
The most common victims in school bus-related fatalities are drivers of other vehicles, followed by pedestrians.”
What I take from these statistics and information is to encourage my children or any children who rides a school bus to sit in the rear, left side of the bus and to never walk in front of the bus unless waved by the driver. The second part of this statement is common sense for an adult, but perhaps a good reminder for a child.
