Do Injured School Bus Passengers Need a Lawyer?
Here are some California school bus accident facts you may not know. Did you know that school buses are the safest way for children to travel?
Indeed, students who ride school buses are eight times safer than they are traveling in any other type of vehicle, according to the NHTSA. In fact, only about 6 percent of injuries involving school buses were to occupants of the bus. The majority of people hurt in school bus collisions (69 percent) were occupants of other vehicles involved in the wreck. Also, about 17 percent of people hurt in school bus accidents were pedestrians or bicyclists.
On any given day, some 26 million students ride 480,000 school buses across the United States.
The statistics show that even though these public school buses travel more than 4.3 billion miles annually, parents should have peace of mind that their child is safe.
Also, the number of students riding the bus to school account for roughly 55 percent of all kindergarten through 12th-grade students, according to American School Bus Council.
Yet “school bus transportation is one of the safest forms of transportation in the United States,” according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association.
School bus drivers across the country safely transport millions of children and teenagers to and from school. They also taken them to school-related functions and activities. Overall, school buses provide 10 billion student rides annually on our roads and freeways.
SCHOOL BUS SAFETY
One of the most dangerous collisions involving a school bus is when a child is getting in or out of the vehicle. Under California Vehicle Code Section 22112, vehicles must stop when a yellow school bus illuminates its flashing lights. This safety measure is used when children are boarding the bus or crossing the roadway.
The fatality rate for school buses is 0.2 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) compared to 1.5 fatalities per 100 million VMT for cars.
Over the past 11 years, school buses annually have averaged about 26,000 crashes resulting in 10 deaths – 25 percent were drivers; 75 percent were passengers. Frontal crashes account for about two passenger deaths each year.
From 2010 to 2019, about 69% of the deaths in school bus-related crashes were occupants of vehicles other than the school bus, and 17% were pedestrians. About 6% were school bus passengers, 5% were school bus drivers, and 3% were pedal cyclists.
The four-year research effort by NHTSA has pinpointed other improvements that could be made to improve the safety of school buses. The agency is considering the following changes to existing federal safety regulations:
- Increase seat back height from 20 inches to 24 inches to reduce the potential for passenger override in the event of a crash.
- Require buses under 10,000 pounds to have lap/should restraints. The agency also will consider seat redesign so the lap/shoulder belts fit correctly for all passengers aged six through adult.
- Develop standardized test procedures for voluntarily installed lap/shoulder belts.
TYPES OF SCHOOL BUS COLLISIONS
Under Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations, Section 1219, the Department of Motor Vehicles requires that all school bus collisions are reported promptly. It doesn’t matter if there were injuries or not. The driver must report the collision to the DMV, their employer and the school district.
- Solo-vehicle Crash
- Rollover school bus accident
- Multi-Vehicle bus collisions
- School versus semi-truck collision
- Car versus school bus accidents
- School bus versus pedestrian accident
- School bus versus bicycle accidents
5 SCHOOL BUS SAFETY TIPS
- 2021 National School Bus Safety Week: October 18-22, 2021.
- Walk young children to the bus stop or encourage children to walk in groups
- Practice good pedestrian behavior by walking on sidewalks
- Encourage children to wear bright, contrasting colors so they will be more easily seen by
drivers. - If you meet your child at the bus stop after school, wait on the side where the child will be dropped off so the child doesn’t dash across the street
Johnson Attorneys Group is a fast-growing, California law firm handling personal injury and wrongful death cases.
We provide a range of legal services to clients who have suffered injuries or the loss of a loved one due to a traffic accident, dog attack, electrocution, slip-and-fall incident, death or any other injury due to the negligence of another person, business or government entity.
We pride ourselves with the fact that our attorneys are not only strong advocates for the injured, but dedicated professionals. The insurance companies will not offer a fair settlement directly to an injured person. However, they are accountable by our legal team. If you would like to request a free consultation, please contact us as soon as possible.
