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 1995 there have been about 416,295 fatal traffic crashes. Of those, 0.33 percent (1,368) were classified as school transportation-related.
| “An average of 21 school-age children die in school transportation-related traffic crashes each year — 6 occupants of school transportation vehicles and 15 pedestrians.” |
Since 1995, 1,509 people have died in school transportation-related crashes — an average of 137 fatalities per year. Most of the people who lost their lives in those crashes (70%) were occupants of other vehicles involved. Nonoccupants (pedestrians, bicyclists, etc.) accounted for 22 percent of the deaths, and occupants of school transportation vehicles accounted for 8 percent.
Since 1995, 170 school-age pedestrians (younger than 19) have died in school transportation-related crashes. Nearly two-thirds (65%) were killed by school buses, 5 percent by vehicles functioning as school buses, and 30 percent by other vehicles involved in the crashes. Nearly one-half (49%) of all school-age pedestrians killed in school transportation-related crashes were between the ages of 5 and 7.
Figure 1
Total Occupant and Pedestrian Fatalities in School Transportation-Related Crashes, by Age Group, 1995-2005
On average, 11 school-age pedestrians are killed by school transportation vehicles (school buses and non-school bus vehicles used as school buses) each year, and 5 are killed by other vehicles involved in school bus-related crashes.
More school-age pedestrians are killed in the afternoon than in the morning, with 32 percent of the fatalities occurring in crashes between 3 and 4 p.m.
Table 1
Total Fatalities in School Transportation-Related Crashes by Time of Day, 1995-2005
Time of Day |
Occupants* |
Pedestrians |
Total |
| Midnight-6:59 a.m. |
8 |
10 |
18 |
| 7-7:59 a.m. |
30 |
34 |
64 |
| 8-8:59 a.m. |
15 |
14 |
29 |
| 9-9:59 a.m. |
3 |
3 |
6 |
| 10-10:59 a.m. |
4 |
0 |
4 |
| 11-11:59 a.m. |
0 |
5 |
5 |
| Noon-12:59 p.m. |
2 |
4 |
6 |
| 1-1:59 p.m. |
1 |
7 |
8 |
| 2-2:59 p.m. |
16 |
25 |
41 |
| 3-3:59 p.m. |
22 |
54 |
76 |
| 4-4:59 p.m. |
10 |
11 |
21 |
| 5-11:59 p.m. |
8 |
3 |
11 |
| 11-Year Total |
119 |
170 |
289 |
| *Does not include occupants of other vehicles in school transportation-related crashes. |
| “From 1995 to 2005, nearly one-half of the school-age pedestrians killed in school transportation-related crashes were between 5 and 7 years old.” |
Between 1995 and 2005, 97 crashes occurred in which at least one occupant of a school transportation vehicle died. More than half of those crashes (55%) involved at least one other vehicle. In the 44 single-vehicle crashes, 57 occupants — 14 drivers and 43 passengers — were killed. In the 53 multiple-vehicle crashes, 31 drivers and 31 passengers died. In the 44 single-vehicle crashes, the first harmful events were as follows: striking a fixed object (24 crashes), a person falling from the vehicle (7 crashes), the vehicle overturning (4 crashes), the vehicle colliding with a train (3 crashes), other non-collision (2 crashes), and collision with a non-fixed object (2 crashes).
In 52 percent of all crashes involving fatalities to occupants of a school transportation vehicle, the principal point of impact was the front of the vehicle.
Since 1995, 6 drivers and 13 passengers have died in school bus body vehicles providing transportation for purposes other than school or school-related activities (churches, civic organizations, etc.). In 1987, one such multi-vehicle crash resulted in the deaths of 27 occupants, including the driver. Table 2
Total Occupant Fatalities in School Transportation-Related Crashes by Principal Impact Point on School Transportation Vehicle, 1995-2005
Principal Impact Point on School Transportation Vehicle |
Type of Crash |
Total |
Single-Vehicle |
Multiple Vehicle |
Crashes |
Fatalities |
Crashes |
Fatalities |
Crashes |
Fatalities |
| Front |
17 |
21 |
33 |
40 |
50 |
61 |
| Right Side |
6 |
8 |
9 |
11 |
15 |
19 |
| Left Side |
4 |
5 |
9 |
9 |
13 |
14 |
| Rear |
4 |
10 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
11 |
| Top |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Undercarriage |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
| Non-Collision |
12 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
12 |
| Other/Uknown |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| 11-Year Total |
44 |
57 |
53 |
62 |
97 |
119 |
Table 3
School-Age Pedestrians Killed in School Transportation-Related Crashes by Vehicle Maneuver, 1995-2005
Vehicle Maneuver |
School Bus Body Type |
Vehicle Used as School Bus |
Other Body Type |
Total |
47 |
4 |
34 |
85 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
31 |
3 |
1 |
35 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
7 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
11 |
0 |
0 |
11 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| 11-Year Total |
110 |
9 |
51 |
170 |
Table 4 - School Transportation-Related Crashes Involving Occupant Fatalities, 1995-2005
Table 5 - Fatalities in School Transportation-Related Crashes, 1995-2005
For more information:
Information on school transportation-related traffic fatalities is available from the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NPO-101, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20590. NCSA information can also be obtained by telephone or by fax-on-demand at 800-934-8517. Fax messages should be sent to 202-366-7078. General information on highway traffic safety can be accessed by Internet users at www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/ncsa. To report a safety-related problem or to inquire about motor vehicle safety information, contact the Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236.
Other fact sheets available from the National Center for Statistics and Analysis are Overview, Alcohol, Bicyclists and Other Cyclists (formerly titled Pedalcyclists), Children, Large Trucks, Motorcycles, Occupant Protection, Older Population, Pedestrians, Speeding, State Alcohol Estimates, State Traffic Data, and Young Drivers. Detailed data on motor vehicle traffic crashes are published annually in Traffic Safety Facts: A Compilation of Motor Vehicle Crash Data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the General Estimates System. The fact sheets and annual Traffic Safety Facts report can be accessed online at www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/ncsa. |
back to index |
