Safer Travel to School
In response to a congressional request, a TRB committee prepared national estimates of the relative risk of travel to and from school by various modes (Special Report 269: The Relative Risks of School Travel: A National Perspective and Guidance for Local Community Risk Assessment; TRB 2002). The committee found it difficult to prepare comparable risk estimates on a consistent, reliable basis. By using plausible assumptions, however, it was able to combine national data sets to estimate the comparative risks (Table 2).
In response to a congressional request, a TRB committee prepared national estimates of the relative risk of travel to and from school by various modes (). The committee found it difficult to prepare comparable risk estimates on a consistent, reliable basis. By using plausible assumptions, however, it was able to combine national data sets to estimate the comparative risks .
During no rmal school travel times, school buses and transit buses are by far the safest modes for school travel, followed by private passenger vehicles driven by adults. On a per-trip or per-passenger-mile basis, walking, cycling, and being driven by a teenager are the riskiest modes. About 800 children die each year in crashes during the normal hours of school travel; only about 3 percent of these deaths occur in school buses or transit buses. By contrast, about 50 percent of injuries and fatalities occur to children in vehicles driven by teenagers.
Local jurisdictions can use the estimates developed by the committee to manage school travel risk more comprehensively. USDOT can assist states and local jurisdictions in managing their risks by providing guidance on the effectiveness of such safety measures as graduated licensing programs, bicycle helmet requirements, laws mandating safety belt use, improved pedestrian and cyclist access, and other such safety measures.
Although school buses are considerably safer than other modes of travel for school transportation, administrators, officials, and parents continue to expect the safety of their operations to improve. Many improvements have been achieved through changes in the design and operation of school buses, but further improvements are always possible. Many jurisdictions, for example, are considering requiring the use of safety belts on school buses.
During the 1990s, about 20 children were killed annually in school bus–related crashes (Special Report 222: Improving School Bus Safety; TRB 1989). In these events, 5 children were typically killed in the bus, 10 were struck by the bus when boarding or alighting, and another 5 were killed by some other motor vehicle illegally passing a stopped bus. Thus, the majority of the safety problems with school buses occur outside rather than inside the bus. A variety of measures can be used to reduce the risk of such casualties. Among them are driver training, bus routing, pedestrian safety education, and technologies to supplement the field of view of the bus driver and the awareness of other drivers.