As the new school year is underway, Safe Kids Carroll County reminds parents that school buses are eight times safer than other vehicles. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the rate of crash-related fatalities on school buses is 0.2 per million vehicle miles traveled, compared to 1.5 for cars.
School buses are, by far, the safest way for kids of all ages to get to and from school. School buses are designed with safety features no other vehicles have. The padded, high-backed seats on school buses are close together to create protective compartments, like egg cartons. Children are not likely to be ejected from a school bus in a crash if they are seated properly - upright and facing forward.
To parents who ask why most school buses do not have seat belts, the purpose of seat belts is to prevent ejection, which is usually fatal and almost always catastrophic. There is not a significant risk of ejection from a large school bus.
In a 2010 report on school bus safety, NHTSA found that seat belts on large buses "appear to have little, if any, benefit in reducing serious-to-fatal injuries in severe frontal crashes." Small school buses (less than 10,000 pounds) are equipped with lap belts as well as compartmental seating and are especially useful for preschool children who ride in car seats.
More children are killed and injured crossing the street at bus stops than riding on a school bus. Teach your children about the 10-foot danger zone around the school bus, where the driver can't see children on the ground. Young children should take eight giant steps away from the bus to be sure the bus driver can see them. Older kids who must cross the street in front of the bus should look to the bus driver for an "OK" sign before crossing.
Safe Kids Carroll County is celebrating School Bus Safety Week at Cranberry Elementary School this week. Please remember as drivers to obey state laws that prohibit passing a stopped school bus or approaching within a certain distance.
Safe Kids Carroll County works to prevent accidental childhood injury, the leading killer of children 14 and younger.
Maggie Rauser is the Safe Kids Carroll County Coordinator for the Carroll County Health Department.
