School Transportation-Related Deaths Spark Questions About Pedestrian Safety

Millions of American children to ride to school on school buses every day. Many parents must leave for work before their children have to be at school, which is where the convenience of a school bus comes in - the bus comes and picks the child up at their designated spot and takes them to school. While this seems like a perfect solution for working parents, children can actually be in danger when they are waiting for their school buses.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 1,282 people were killed in school transportation-related crashes between 2007 and 2016. Of those 1,282, there were 281 school-aged pedestrians (children under 18 years old) who were killed in these accidents. Recently, there have been a series of school transportation-related accidents that have killed and injured children, sparking a conversation about how this could be prevented.

In the past week, there have been at least six bus stop accidents that happened in Indiana, Mississippi, Florida, and Pennsylvania, leaving five children dead and injuring another seven. Many of these accidents occurred as children were waiting at a bus stop or crossing the street to get onto a bus. In almost all of the incidents, the drivers who hit the children were not paying attention and drove past a school bus that had its arm extended, and several of the accidents involved speeding in residential areas. There are many laws against reckless driving near and around school buses, and if a driver injures or kills a person due to this type of negligence, they may face charges ranging from reckless homicide to aggravated assault, in addition to charges for violating school bus traffic laws.

In many school transportation accidents, the danger does not come from riding the school bus itself - instead, accidents occur before or after the child is on the school bus. Here are a few safety tips you can teach your children to help keep them safe at a bus stop:

• Show your child where they should be standing while at the bus stop. They should be, at the very least, six feet away from the curb and away from traffic.
• Remind your child that they should always wait for the bus to come to a full and complete stop before walking toward the bus. Wait until the doors open and the driver says it is OK for them to board.
• If your child has to cross the street to get onto the school bus, make sure they know that they should never cross behind the bus. Instead, always cross in the front, at least 10 feet away from the bus. Tell your child to make eye contact with the bus driver, so they know that the driver can see them before they cross the street.

Parents never drop their child off at the bus stop thinking this will be the last day they will spend with them. Taking precautionary steps and educating yourself and your children about how to protect yourselves at bus stops is extremely important. If you or your child have been injured while waiting at a bus stop, you should take legal action immediately with help from a Monterey pedestrian accident attorney. Drivers should be held responsible for their negligence, especially if their actions injured or killed a child. Corsiglia McMahon & Allard, L.L.P. will work to make sure that you get the compensation that you are rightfully owed. To schedule a free consultation, call our office today at 408-298-7200.

• School-Transportation-Related Crashes
• 5 children have been killed in 3 days waiting for school buses
• School Bus Safety