Bus accidents are especially tragic when kids are involved

Pennsylvania parents whose children ride buses to school certainly expect that the drivers transporting their kids will adhere to all traffic laws and safety regulations. Current data shows traveling by school bus is safer than trying to get to school by car. There is not much a bus driver can do about other motorists who happen to be sharing their roadways, however. Many bus accidents occur because drivers in other vehicles are negligent or reckless.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reports that less than 1% of all fatal traffic accidents in the United States involve school buses. It says that students are at least 70 times safer traveling on school buses than in other types of vehicles. Even so, on average, six children die every year because of injuries resulting from school bus collisions.

It is illegal to pass a school bus when children are boarding or disembarking. These buses are equipped with many safety features that cars do not have. For instance, all school buses have mechanized stop-sign arms that let all motorists in the area know the bus is stopping to pick up or drop off students.

The weight of most school buses provides crash protection if a collision occurs. The heavier the vehicle, the less impact a collision is likely to have on occupants inside the bus. While such data may provide comfort to many Pennsylvania parents whose kids travel on school buses daily, the fact is that bus accidents do still occur and many of them result in serious injuries. A parent of an injured child may act on his or her behalf to seek justice if the injuries occurred in a collision while riding a school bus.