It is fitting that we are here in front of our newest students. We carry the responsibility to ensure their safety during the next 13 years of their lives while they are traveling to and from school. It is an enormous responsibility and one that is, without question, our most important task. It is estimated that motorists illegally pass school buses 11,750 times a day. Nationally, 37.7 percent of pupil fatalities occur because motorists illegally pass stopped school buses.
Most pupil fatalities occur at bus stops during loading and unloading.
Pupils most at risk during bus loading and unloading are elementary students ages 5-9. This group is involved in 74 percent of the fatalities. Now, our emphasis must be with the motoring public. We want motorists to be aware that this week, just like any other week in the year, troopers will be watching to ensure school bus safety for the children who are Indiana's future. While a fatality has not occurred in Indiana since 1993, the two superintendents stressed that all motorists need to take the time to obey the law and never to risk injury to a student.