School Bus Safety

Updated February 2013

Millions of children rely on school buses to transport them to and from school and school related activities. This form of transportation is very safe. On average, only 6 passengers die each year in school bus crashes. In comparison, each year approximately 2,000 children are killed in motor vehicle crashes. The federal government has established 35 safety standards to help ensure safe school bus transportation and states are free to pass even stricter regulations. One area still up for debate is that of occupant protection on school buses. Although safety belts provide excellent protection in passenger vehicles, the effectiveness of safety belts on school buses is unknown because the effectiveness depends upon the type of restraint, how it is used and the type of crash. In 2008, NHTSA announced a rule change to FMVSS 222, which now requires new school buses of 10,000 pounds or less to have lap-shoulder belts in lieu of the lap belts currently required. The rule also requires increasing the height of seat backs from 20 inches to 24 inches and allows states or local jurisdictions to decide whether to install seat belts on larger school buses (over 10,000 pounds). California, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Louisiana, and Texas have passed some variation of a seat belt law for school buses but funding has not been appropriated in some states. In 2009, 8 states introduced bills that would require school buses to have seat belts installed, none of the bills passed.

Publications

• New! Traffic Safety Trends: State Legislative Action 2012, February 2013, by Anne Teigen and Douglas Shinkle. See page 18 of PDF for school bus safety information.
• School Bus Video Monitoring for Violation of Passing Laws, July 2012
• Traffic Safety and Public Health: State Legislative Action, 2011, No. 36, February 2012, by Anne Teigen and Douglas Shinkle.
• Transportation Review: School Bus Safety, August 2012 by Crystal Cook and Douglas Shinkle.
• "Traffic Safety and Public Health: State Legislative Action 2009," Transportation Series No. 34, February 2010, by Melissa Savage, Anne Teigen and Nicholas Farber. 

Other Resources

• NCSL/NHTSA Traffic Safety Legislation Database
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• National Transportation Safety Board
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's School Buses site.
• Report on bus crashworthiness from the National Transportation Safety Board.
• National School Transportation Association
• School Transportation News
• School Bus Fleet Magazine
• National Association of School Directors for Pupil Transportation
• National Safety Council