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

Traffic Safety Facts

2008 Data

DOT HS 811 165

School Transportation-Related Crashes

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 1998, 1,564 people have died in school transportation-related crashes—

an average of 142 fatalities per year. Most of the people who lost their lives in 

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

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

of school transportation vehicles accounted for 8 percent.

Since 1998, 149 school-age pedestrians (younger than 19) have died in school 

transportation-related crashes. Over two-thirds (69%) were killed by school buses, 

7 percent by vehicles functioning as school buses, and 24 percent by other vehicles 

involved in the crashes. About one-half (47%) 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, 1998-2008

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

<5 1

20

5

70

30

40

25

19

57

118

5-7

Occupants Pedestrians

8-13

14-18

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.

“An average of 19 

school-age children die 

in school transportationeach year—5 occupants 

of school transportation 

vehicles and 14 

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

2

On average, 14 school-age pedestrians are killed by school transportation vehicles 

(school buses and non-school bus vehicles used as school buses) each year, and 3 

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

More school-age pedestrians have been killed between the hours of 3 p.m. and 4 

p.m. than any other time of day.

Table 1

Fatalities in School Transportation-Related Crashes by Time of Day, 1998-2008

Time of Day Occupants* Pedestrians Total

Midnight–6:59 a.m. 10 11 21

7:00–7:59 a.m. 20 31 51

8:00–8:59 a.m. 9 15 24

9:00–9:59 a.m. 6 2 8

10:00–10:59 a.m. 8 0 8

11:00–11:59 a.m. 0 5 5

Noon–12:59 p.m. 1 2 3

1:00–1:59 p.m. 0 6 6

2:00–2:59 p.m. 21 20 41

3:00–3:59 p.m. 28 43 71

4:00–4:59 p.m. 10 10 20

5:00–11:59 p.m. 5 4 9

Total 118 149 267

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

Between 1998 and 2008, 96 crashes occurred in which at least one occupant of a 

school transportation vehicle died. More than half of those crashes (59%) involved 

at least one other vehicle. In the 39 single-vehicle crashes, 46 occupants — 17 

drivers and 29 passengers — were killed. In the 57 multiple-vehicle crashes, 32 

drivers and 40 passengers died. In the 39 single-vehicle crashes, the first harmful 

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

the vehicle (5 crashes), the vehicle overturning (5 crashes), the vehicle colliding 

with a train (2 crashes), other non-collision (1 crash), and collision with a non-fixed 

object (1 crash).

In 51 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 1998, four drivers and one passenger 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 1998 to 2008, 

about one-half (47%) 

of the school-age 

pedestrians killed in 

school transportationrelated crashes were 

between 5 and 

7 years old.”
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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 51 

percent of fatal school 

transportation-related 

crashes.”

Table 2

Total Occupant Fatalities in School Transportation-Related Crashes by Principal 

Impact Point on School Transportation Vehicle and Type of Crash, 1998-2008

Principal Impact 

Point on School 

Transportation 

Vehicle

Type of Crash Total

Single-Vehicle Multiple-Vehicle

Crashes Fatalities Crashes Fatalities Crashes Fatalities

Front 17 21 32 39 49 60

Right Side 7 9 9 11 16 20

Left Side 3 4 11 14 14 18

Rear 3 3 3 3 6 6

Top 0 0 1 4 1 4

Undercarriage 0 0 0 0 0 0

Non-Collision 8 8 0 0 8 8

Other/Unknown 1 1 1 1 2 2

Total 39 46 57 72 96 118

Table 3

School-Age Pedestrians Killed in School Transportation-Related Crashes by 

Vehicle Maneuver, 1998-2008

Vehicle Maneuver

School Bus 

Body Type 

Vehicle 

Used as 

School Bus

Other Body 

Type Total

Going Straight 49 4 22 75

Slowing or Stopping in 

Traffic Lane 2 0 0 2

Starting in Traffic Lane 26 3 0 29

Passing or Overtaking Another 

Vehicle 0 0 9 9

Leaving a Parked Position 4 0 0 4

Maneuvering to Avoid 

an Animal, Pedestrian, 

Object, Other Vehicle, etc.

0 0 2 2

Turning Right 7 0 0 7

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

Total 103 10 36 149

For more information:

Information on traffic fatalities is available from the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NVS-424, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. NCSA can be contacted at 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 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, 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 

www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/CATS/index.aspx.
4

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, 1998-2008

Year

School Bus Body Type Vehicle Used as School Bus Total

Single-Vehicle 

Crash 

Multiple-Vehicle 

Crash

Single-Vehicle 

Crash 

Multiple-Vehicle 

Crash

Single-Vehicle 

Crash 

Multiple-Vehicle 

Crash

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

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

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

Total 31 38 44 54 8 8 13 18 39 46 57 72

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.

Table 5

Fatalities in School Transportation-Related Crashes, 1998-2008

Year

Occupants of School 

Transportation Vehicle* Pedestrians

Other NonoccupantsOccupants of 

Driver Passenger Total Other Vehicles Total

Struck by School 

Vehicle**

Struck by 

Other Vehicle Total

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 19 3 22 2 118 150

2007 4 1 5 16 2 19 6 112 142

2008 4 15 19 20 1 21 8 105 153

Total 49 69 118 225 41 267 52 1,127 1,564

Average 4 6 11 20 4 24 5 102 142

* 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.