01519004

Component

School bus crashes are rare in comparison to other crash types, but considering all crashes that are in and around school buses, they begin to become a noticeable problem and one that tends to attract national attention. As defined by the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), a school bus related crash is a crash that either involves a school bus or the presence of a school bus is considered as a major contributing factor. Ten years of data indicate that the number of fatal school bus related crashes has remained nearly stagnant, despite an increase in the number vehicle safety systems on the market. The findings also highlight the importance of protecting the non-bus occupants since they are the most likely to incur a serious or fatal injury. As the most vulnerable user group, pedestrians (typically school-aged children) are especially at risk when crossing the road while boarding or exiting a school bus. Although the FARS data provides a reliable basis for fatal crashes, more data is needed to fill in the gaps of the less severe, but more prevalent, injury and property damage only crashes. Once the less severe crashes are able to be quantified and further defined, steps to reduce the number of school bus related crashes can be identified.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ANB10(6) School Transportation.

01503729

14-3424

English

16p

2014

Transportation Research Board 93rd Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; References; Tables

Bus crashes; Crash characteristics; Crash data; Data analysis; Fatalities; Pedestrian safety; School buses; School children

Fatality Analysis Reporting System

Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I80: Accident Studies

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2014 Paper #14-3424

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Jan 27 2014 3:11PM