Millions of students board a school bus every day. While taking the bus is generally the safest mode of travel to get to school, there are still risks to both riders and other road users.

Brumley Law Firm, headquartered in Washington state, teamed up with 1Point21 Interactive, a San Diego-based data and content agency, to analyze 10 years of data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), ranging from 2013 to 2022.

The data identifies fatal school bus crashes, accounting for the deaths and injuries of both passengers and other motorists.

Here are some key findings from the analysis:

• There were 976 fatal school bus crashes between 2013 and 2022.

• 1,082 people of all ages died and 132,000 people were injured in school bus accidents between 2013 and 2022.

• Approximately 108 people are killed and 13,200 people are injured in school bus accidents each year, on average.

• Occupants of other vehicles are most likely to die in a school bus accident — representing 71% of fatalities.

• More school-age pedestrians were killed between 3 p.m. and 3:59 p.m. than any other hours of the day.

• Only eight states have school bus seat belt laws and twenty-five have stop-arm camera laws.

School Bus Crash-Related Deaths Declining

Every year, approximately 108 people are killed in school bus crashes, according to NHTSA data. Between 2013 and 2022, there were 1,082 deaths.

However, over these 10 years, analysts noted a gradual, positive decline in overall school bus deaths. They attribute this to technological advancements and improved safety measures taken by school districts and states.

Over that 10-year period, the highest number of school bus fatalities was reported in 2013, with a total of 131 deaths in a single year.

A total of 111 school bus occupants were killed over 10 years; 61 were passengers and 50 were bus drivers.

The outlier is 2020, where there were nearly half the number of school bus crash-related deaths compared to other years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutting schools down.

Analysts found that occupants of other vehicles are far more likely to be killed than anyone else. School bus occupants, which includes school bus drivers and passengers, are the second most likely to be killed, followed by pedestrians.

Among all school bus occupants who were killed from 2013-2022, one was under 5 years old, 15 were between 5 and 10 years old, 19 were between 11 and 18 years old, and 76 were 19 years old and older — likely school bus drivers or aides.

School bus fatalities are most likely to occur during the afternoon route.

Thousands Injured in School Bus Crashes

Over the 10-year period analyzed, school bus crashes resulted in approximately 132,000 injuries. Just as with deaths, the year with the highest number of injuries was 2013, which saw approximately 24,000.

On average, there were 13,200 injuries per year during this period.

Of all the fatal school bus crashes that occurred between 2013 and 2022, Texas had the highest number, with 75 crashes and 87 fatalities.

Florida followed closely behind with 74 crashes and 76 fatalities. 

The two U.S. counties that had the most fatal school bus crashes from 2013-2022 were Harris County, Texas, and Kings County, New York, with 11 each.

Three other counties – Cook County, Ill.; Los Angeles County, Calif.; and Maricopa County, Ariz. – had nine crashes each.

These counties are some of the most populous in the U.S., which increases the number of vehicles on the road and therefore the rate at which accidents, including school bus accidents, occur.

What Makes School Buses Safer?

School buses are among the most regulated vehicles in the United States and are statistically the safest option to get students to and from school.

The significant number of fatalities among occupants of other vehicles during the 10-year period can be attributed to the weight and size disparity between school buses and standard cars, analysts noted.

School buses typically weigh between 15,000 to 36,000 lbs., while the average car weighs about 4,000 lbs. In the event of a collision between a passenger vehicle and a school bus, the likelihood of severe injury or wrongful death for the car’s occupants is considerably high.

Still Room for Improvement

School bus safety laws vary state by state, and they can impact these numbers.

Despite federal law mandating that school buses under 10,000 lbs. have lap and shoulder belts for all seats, those over 10,000 lbs. are only required to have seat belts for the driver.

Seat Belt Laws

Only eight states in the U.S. have laws requiring seat belts to be installed on school buses, but there are stipulations to those laws. Read more about that here.

Additionally, despite these laws being in place, students may not wear seat belts even when they are present. 

Some states allow for local jurisdictions and school districts to decide whether they enforce the usage of seat belts on school buses. 

Stop-Arm Camera Laws

Stop-arm cameras are a safety feature that can be added to school buses to help protect students who are entering and exiting them.

These cameras are mounted on the exterior of the school bus and capture footage of drivers who illegally pass a school bus with their stop arm extended. Those drivers can then be subject to fines.

Currently, only 25 states have enacted school bus stop-arm camera laws, according to analysts.

A combination of seat belt laws and enforcement of those laws, stop-arm camera laws, and other safety measures can contribute to the continuation of a school bus crash fatality decline.

“While riding a school bus is generally a very safe form of transportation, any vehicle travel exposes our kids to the risks of the road,” said Brumley Law Firm founding attorney Joshua Brumley. “Every fatal collision is a tragedy, and this is especially true when children are involved. I also believe that knowledge is power, and giving parents the information and context they need is very important.”