Statistically, school buses are the safest way to transport school children.  Yet more injuries and fatalities occur outside of or near a school bus because a motorist has failed to obey the stop-arm warning or to follow local traffic laws.

• From 2013 to 2022, there were 976 fatal school-transportation-related crashes, and 1,082 people of all ages were killed in those crashes — an average of 108 fatalities per year.
• From 2013 to 2022, there were 198 school-age children who died in school-transportation-related traffic crashes; 35 were occupants of school transportation vehicles, 80 were occupants of other vehicles, 76 were pedestrians, 5 were pedalcyclists, and 2 were an “other” nonoccupant.
• From 2013 to 2022, there were 1.5 times more fatalities among pedestrians (169) than occupants of school transportation vehicles (111) in school transportation-related crashes.
• From 2013 to 2022, there were 111 occupants killed in school transportation vehicles; 50 were drivers, and 61 were passengers. Most (71%) of the people killed in school-transportation-related crashes were occupants of other vehicles involved in the crashes.

School buses are statistically the safest way to transport school children. Unfortunately, dangers still arise: From 2000-2022, there were 55 fatalities in crashes that involved a driver illegally passing a stopped school bus, an average of 2.4 fatalities a year. Almost half of those fatalities (25) were pedestrians who were 18 years old or younger. 

School bus design is meant to be safer than any passenger vehicle in avoiding crashes and preventing injuries. Teaching children to follow safety rules on the bus is just as important as informing drivers about the laws regarding school buses.

Use these resources to provide your community with safety messages to keep children safe on and off the school bus: www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov/get-materials/school-bus-safety