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

TRAFFIC SAFETY FACTS

2003–2012 Data

DOT HS 811 890 Revised June 2014

School-Transportation-Related Crashes

A school-transportation-related crash is a crash that 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 2003 there were 348,253 fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes. Of those, 1,222 

(0.35%) were classified as school-transportation-related.

Since 2003, there have been 1,353 people killed in school-transportation-related 

crashes—an average of 135 fatalities per year. Occupants of school transportation 

vehicles accounted for 8 percent of the fatalities, and nonoccupants (pedestrians, 

bicyclists, etc.) accounted for 21 percent of the fatalities. Most (71%) of the people 

who lost their lives in these crashes were occupants of other vehicles involved (for 

more information see Table 5).

Since 2003, 119 school-age pedestrians (younger than 19) have died in schooltransportation-related crashes. Sixty-five percent were struck by school buses, 5 

percent by vehicles functioning as school buses, and 30 percent by other vehicles 

(passenger cars, light trucks and vans, large trucks, and motorcycles, etc.) involved 

in the crashes. There were 42 (35%) school-age pedestrians 5 to 7 years old killed 

in school transportation-related crashes and a similar number and percentage who 

were 8 to 13 years old (Figure 1).

Figure 1

Total School Bus Occupant and Pedestrian Fatalities in SchoolTransportation-Related Crashes by Age Group, 2003–2012

From 2003 to 2012, 174 

school-age children died 

in school-transportationrelated crashes, 55 were 

occupants of school 

transportation vehicles 

and 119 were pedestrians.

0 30 60 90 120 150

0–4 2

11

8

42

24

21

24

42

51

125

5–7

Occupants Pedestrians

14–18

8–13

19+

Age Group (Years)

Number of Fatalities

Note: Occupant fatalities shown are for occupants of school buses and non-school buses used as school buses.

From 2003 to 2012, 

both 5 to 7 and 8 to 13 

age groups each had 

42 (35%) school-age 

pedestrians killed in 

school-transportationrelated crashes.
2

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

On average, 8 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 have been killed from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. and from 3 p.m. 

to 4 p.m. than any other times of day (Table 1).

Impacts to the front of 

school transportation 

vehicles occurred in 49 

percent of fatal schooltransportation-related 

crashes.

Table 1

School-Age (Age<19) Fatalities in School-Transportation-Related Crashes by Time of Day, 2003–2012

Time of Day

Occupants of School 

Transportation Vehicles

Occupants of 

Other Vehicles Pedestrians Pedalcyclists

Other* 

Nonoccupants Total

Midnight–6:59 a.m. 2 11 18 0 0 31

7–7:59 a.m. 7 41 28 1 0 77

8–8:59 a.m. 5 15 10 0 0 30

9–9:59 a.m. 0 4 0 1 0 5

10–10:59 a.m. 4 2 0 0 0 6

11–11:59 a.m. 0 0 1 0 0 1

Noon–12:59 p.m. 1 1 2 1 0 5

1–1:59 p.m. 2 1 5 0 0 8

2–2:59 p.m. 6 14 12 3 0 35

3–3:59 p.m. 16 45 29 0 1 91

4–4:59 p.m. 8 14 8 0 0 30

5–11:59 p.m. 4 13 6 2 0 25

Total 55 161 119 8 1 344

*Includes persons on personal conveyances such as skateboards, scooters, wheelchairs, etc.

Between 2003 and 2012, there were 89 crashes in which at least one occupant of a 

school transportation vehicle died. More than half of those crashes (58%) involved 

at least one other vehicle. Impacts to the front of the school transportation vehicle 

occurred in 49 percent and impacts to the right side of the school transportation 

vehicle occurred in 15 percent of fatal school-transportation-related crashes 

(Table 2). In the 37 single-vehicle crashes, 39 occupants—19 drivers and 20 

passengers—were killed. In the 52 multiple-vehicle crashes, 27 drivers and 40 

passengers died (Table 3). In the 37 single-vehicle crashes, the first harmful events 

were as follows: striking a fixed object (22 crashes), the vehicle overturning (8 

crashes), a person falling from the vehicle (5 crashes), and collision with a nonfixed object (1 crash) (i.e., pedestrian, pedalcyclist, railway vehicle, live animal, and 

ridden animal or animal-drawn conveyance).

Table 2

Total School Bus Occupant Fatalities (All Ages) in School-TransportationRelated Crashes by Initial Impact Point on School Transportation Vehicle, 

2003–2012

Initial Impact 

Point on School 

Transportation 

Vehicle

Type of Crash

Single-Vehicle Multiple-Vehicle Total

Crashes Fatalities Crashes Fatalities Crashes Fatalities

Front 16 17 28 35 44 52

Right Side 7 7 6 9 13 16

Left Side 0 0 8 11 8 11

Rear 1 1 7 8 8 9

Top 0 0 0 0 0 0

Undercarriage 1 1 1 1 2 2

Non-Collision 11 12 0 0 11 12

Other/Unknown 1 1 2 3 3 4

Total 37 39 52 67 89 106
3

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

Table 3

School Transportation-Related Crashes Involving Occupant Fatalities (All Ages), 2003–2012

Year

School Bus Body Type Vehicle Used as School Bus Total

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

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

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

2007 2 2 1 1 0 0 1 2 2 2 2 3

2008 3 3 6 9 1 1 3 6 4 4 9 15

2009 1 1 2 2 0 0 1 2 1 1 3 4

2010 8 8 6 6 1 1 1 1 9 9 7 7

2011 3 3 5 6 1 1 1 1 4 4 6 7

2012 3 5 5 7 1 1 1 1 4 6 6 8

Total 30 32 39 49 7 7 13 18 37 39 52 67

Average 3 3 4 5 1 1 1 2 4 4 5 7

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

From 2003 to 2012, seventy percent of the school-age pedestrians fatally injured in 

crashes were struck by school buses or vehicles functioning as school buses, while 

30 percent were struck by vehicles of other body types. Of school-age pedestrians 

fatally injured in school-transportation-related crashes, one-third (33%) were struck 

by school buses or vehicles functioning as school buses that were going straight 

(Table 4).

Table 4

School-Age (Age <19) Pedestrians Killed in School TransportationRelated Crashes by Vehicle Maneuver, 2003–2012

Vehicle Maneuver

School Bus 

Body Type 

Vehicle 

Used as 

School Bus

Other Body 

Type Total

Going Straight 36 3 24 63

Slowing to Traffic Lane 1 0 0 1

Accelerating in Traffic Lane 2 0 0 2

Starting in Traffic Lane 16 1 0 17

Stopped in Road 1 0 0 1

Passing or Overtaking Another 

Vehicle 0 0 6 6

Leaving/Entering a Parked 

Position 5 0 0 5

Maneuvering to Avoid 0 0 1 1

Turning Right 6 0 1 7

Turning Left 9 1 0 10

Negotiating a Curve 1 1 4 6

Total 77 6 36 119
4

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

Table 5

Fatalities (All Ages) in School-Transportation-Related Crashes, 2003–2012

Year

Occupants of School 

Transportation Vehicles* Pedestrians

Other NonoccupantsOccupants of 

Driver Passenger Total Other Vehicles Total

Struck by 

School Vehicle

Struck by 

Other Vehicle Total

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 19 3 22 2 118 150

2007 4 1 5 16 2 19** 6 112 142

2008 4 15 19 20 1 21 8 104 152

2009 2 3 5 13 8 21 1 91 118

2010 6 10 16 21 5 26 4 84 130

2011 7 4 11 12 9 21 5 86 123

2012 6 8 14 18 9 27 3 87 131

Total 46 60 106 195 48 244 41 962 1,353

Average 5 6 11 20 5 24 4 96 135

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

**Includes 1 pedestrian fatality in which the striking vehicle was not identified.

From 2003 to 2012, among the 106 occupants killed in school transportation 

vehicles, 46 were drivers and 60 were passengers. Among the 244 pedestrians 

killed in school-transportation-related crashes, 195 were struck by school vehicles 

and 48 were struck by other vehicles (Table 5). Since 2003, two drivers and two 

passengers have died in school bus body vehicles providing transportation 

for purposes other than school or school-related activities (churches, civic 

organizations, etc.).

For more information:

Information on traffic fatalities is available from the National Center for 

Statistics and Analysis (NCSA), NVS-424, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Washington, DC 20590. NCSA can be contacted at 800-934-8517 or via 

the following e-mail address: ncsaweb@dot.gov. General information on 

highway traffic safety can be accessed by Internet users at www.nhtsa.gov/

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 Alcohol-Impaired Driving, Bicyclists and Other Cyclists, Children, 

Large Trucks, Motorcycles, Occupant Protection, Older Population, Overview, 

Passenger Vehicles, 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 www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/

CATS/index.aspx.

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