NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590

Traffic Safety Facts

2006 Data

DOT HS 810 813 

School Transportation-Related Crashes

“An average of 20 schoolage children die in school 

transportation-related 

traffic crashes each year 

— 5 occupants of school 

transportation vehicles

and 14 pedestrians.”

A school transportation-related crash is a crash which involves, either directly 

or indirectly, a school bus body vehicle, or a non-school bus functioning as a 

school bus, transporting children to or from school or school-related activities.

Since 1996 there have been about 417,705 fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes. Of 

those, 0.33 percent (1,387) were classified as school transportation-related. 

Since 1996, 1,536 people have died in school transportation-related crashes — an 

average of 140 fatalities per year. Most of the people who lost their lives in 

those crashes (72%) were occupants of other vehicles involved. Non occupants 

(pedestrians, bicyclists, etc.) accounted for 20 percent of the deaths, and occupants 

of school transportation vehicles accounted for 7 percent.

Since 1996, 159 school-age pedestrians (younger than 19) have died in school 

transportation-related crashes. Over two-thirds (67%) were killed by school buses, 

6 percent by vehicles functioning as school buses, and 28 percent by other vehicles 

involved in the crashes. One-half (50%) of all school-age pedestrians killed in 

school transportation-related crashes were between the ages of 5 and 7.

Figure 1

Total Occupant and Pedestrian Fatalities in School Transportation-Related 

Crashes, by Age Group, 1996-2006

<5

5-7

Occupants Pedestrians

8-13

14-18

19+

0

Age Group (Years)

20 60

Number of Fatalities (11-Year Total)

40 80 100 120

Note: Occupant fatalities shown are for occupants of school buses and non-school buses used as school buses.
NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590



On average, 10 school-age pedestrians are killed by school transportation vehicles 

(school buses and non-school bus vehicles used as school buses) each year, and 4 

are killed by other vehicles involved in school bus-related crashes.

More school-age pedestrians are killed in the afternoon than in the morning, 

with 32 percent of the fatalities occurring in crashes between 3 and 4 p.m.

Table 1

Total Fatalities in School Transportation-Related Crashes by Time of Day,

1996-2006

Time of Day Occupants* Pedestrians Total

Midnight-6:59 a.m. 9 10 19

7-7:59 a.m. 20 32 52

8-8:59 a.m. 14 14 28

9-9:59 a.m. 4 2 6

10-10:59 a.m. 8 0 8

11-11:59 a.m. 0 5 5

Noon-12:59 p.m. 2 1 3

1-1:59 p.m. 1 7 8

2-2:59 p.m. 15 22 37

3-3:59 p.m. 23 51 74

4-4:59 p.m. 10 12 22

5-11:59 p.m. 8 3 11

11-Year Total 114 159 273

*Does not include occupants of other vehicles in school transportation-related crashes.

Between 1996 and 2006, 96 crashes occurred in which at least one occupant of a 

school transportation vehicle died. More than half of those crashes (57%) 

involved at least one other vehicle. In the 41 single-vehicle crashes, 48 occupants 

— 14 drivers and 34 passengers — were killed. In the 55 multiple-vehicle crashes, 

34 drivers and 32 passengers died. In the 41 single-vehicle crashes, the first harmful 

events were as follows: striking a fixed object (23 crashes), a person falling from 

the vehicle (6 crashes), the vehicle overturning (4 crashes), the vehicle colliding 

with a train (2 crashes), other non-collision (2 crashes), and collision with a 

non-fixed object (2 crashes).

In 53 percent of all crashes involving fatalities to occupants of a school transportation 

vehicle, the principal point of impact was the front of the vehicle.

Since 1996, 6 drivers and 7 passengers have died in school bus body vehicles 

providing transportation for purposes other than school or school-related activities 

(churches, civic organizations, etc.). In 1987, one such multi-vehicle crash resulted 

in the deaths of 27 occupants, including the driver.

“From 1996 to 

2006, one-half of 

the school-age 

pedestrians 

killed in school 

transportationrelated crashes 

were between 5 

and 7 years old.”
NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590



“Impacts to the 

front of the school 

transportation 

vehicle occur in 53 

percent of fatal school 

transportationrelated crashes.”

Table 2

Total Occupant Fatalities in School Transportation-Related Crashes by Principal 

Impact Point on School Transportation Vehicle, 1996-2006

Principal Impact 

Point on School 

Transportation 

Type of Crash

Single-Vehicle Multiple Vehicle Total

Vehicle Crashes Fatalities Crashes Fatalities Crashes Fatalities

Front 17 21 34 43 51 64

Right Side 6 8 9 11 15 19

Left Side 3 4 10 10 13 14

Rear 3 3 1 1 4 4

Top 0 0 0 0 0 0

Undercarriage 0 0 0 0 0 0

Non-Collision 11 11 0 0 11 11

Other/Unknown 1 1 1 1 2 2

11-Year Total 41 48 55 66 96 114

Table 3

School-Age Pedestrians Killed in School Transportation-Related Crashes 

by Vehicle Maneuver, 1996-2006

Vehicle Maneuver

School Bus 

Body Type 

Vehicle 

Used as 

School Bus

Other Body 

Type Total

Going Straight 48 3 28 79

Slowing or Stopping in 

Traffic Lane 

3 0 0 3

Starting in Traffic Lane 26 3 1 30

Passing or Overtaking Another 

Vehicle 

0 0 9 9

Leaving a Parked Position 5 0 0 5

Maneuvering to Avoid 

an Animal, Pedestrian, 

Object, Other Vehicle, etc.

0 0 2 2

Turning Right 9 0 0 9

Turning Left 13 1 0 14

Backing Up (Other Than 

 for Parking) 0 1 0 1

Negotiating a Curve 1 1 2 4

Entering Parked Position 1 0 0 1

Changing Lanes 0 0 1 1

Other/Unknown 0 0 1 1

11-Year Total 106 9 44 159 

For more information:

Information on traffic fatalities is available from the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NVS-421, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20590. NCSA can be contacted on 800-934-8517. Fax messages should be sent to 202-366-7078. General 

information on highway traffic safety can be accessed by Internet users at http://www.nhtsa.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/ncsa. To report a 

safety-related problem or to inquire about motor vehicle safety information, contact the Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236.

Other fact sheets available from the National Center for Statistics and Analysis are Overview, Alcohol, African American, Bicyclists 

and Other Cyclists (formerly titled Pedalcyclists), Children, Hispanic, Large Trucks, Motorcycles, Occupant Protection, Older Population, 

Pedestrians, Race and Ethnicity, Rural/Urban Comparisons, Speeding, State Alcohol Estimates, State Traffic Data, and Young Drivers. Detailed 

data on motor vehicle traffic crashes are published annually in Traffic Safety Facts: A Compilation of Motor Vehicle Crash Data from 

the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the General Estimates System. The fact sheets and annual Traffic Safety Facts report can be 

accessed online at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/CMSWeb/index.aspx.


NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590

Table 4 

School Transportation-Related Crashes Involving Occupant Fatalities, 1996-2006

School Bus Body Type Vehicle Used as School Bus Total

Single-Vehicle Multiple Vehicle Single-Vehicle Multiple Vehicle Single-Vehicle Multiple Vehicle 

Year

Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash Crash

Crashes Fatalities Crashes Fatalities Crashes Fatalities Crashes Fatalities Crashes Fatalities Crashes Fatalities

1996 5 5 3 3 2 2 0 0 7 7 3 3

1997 0 0 5 8 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 9

1998 1 2 4 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 4 4

1999 2 2 6 6 0 0 2 2 2 2 8 8

2000 7 9 6 7 2 2 2 3 9 11 8 10

2001 5 9 6 8 1 1 0 0 6 10 6 8

2002 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 2 2 1 1

2003 5 5 2 2 3 3 1 1 8 8 3 3

2004 2 2 5 5 0 0 0 0 2 2 5 5

2005 3 3 4 5 0 0 2 2 3 3 6 7

2006 0 0 3 6 0 0 2 2 0 0 5 8

Total 31 38 45 55 10 10 10 11 41 48 55 66

Average 3 4 4 5 1 1 1 1 4 4 5 6

Note: Does not include occupants of other vehicles in school transportation-related crashes.

Table 5

Fatalities in School Transportation-Related Crashes, 1996-2006

Occupants of School 

Transportation Vehicle* Pedestrians

Struck by School Struck by Other Non Occupants of 

Year Driver Passenger Total Vehicle* Other Vehicle Total occupants Other Vehicles Total

1996 2 8 10 16 7 23 2 101 136

1997 5 5 10 17 2 19 5 97 131

1998 3 3 6 21 3 24 7 91 128

1999 6 4 10 20 6 26 4 127 167

2000 8 13 21 19 7 26 1 99 147

2001 6 12 18 18 4 22 6 95 141

2002 1 2 3 16 4 20 6 100 129

2003 6 5 11 22 5 27 2 100 140

2004 3 4 7 27 3 30 3 93 133

2005 5 5 10 27 3 30 7 87 134

2006 3 5 8 18 3 21 2 119 150

Total 48 66 114 221 47 268 45 1,109 1,536

Average 4 6 10 20 4 24 4 101 140

*Includes school bus body type and non-school bus used as school bus.