Manassas

Local Governments, Agencies Issue School Bus Safety Reminders

By Caitlyn Meisner
Photo by Suzy Hazelwood via Pexels

With school having started in the region these past two weeks, several localities have released safety reminders for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.

In a May 2021 report, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said between 2010 and 2019, there were 1,080 school transportation-related crashes and 1,199 people of all ages were killed in those crashes.

Among these fatalities, here are more detailed statistics:

  • 240 school-age children died in school transportation-related crashes
  • 52 children were occupants of school transportation vehicles
  • 90 were occupants of other vehicles
  • 92 were pedestrians
  • 5 were cyclists
  • 1 was labeled as “other”

NHTSA also said almost half of these crashes during this nine-year period occurred in rural areas, and nonoccupants — including pedestrians and bicyclists — accounted for 20% of the fatalities. 69% of the fatalities were occupants in other vehicles.

Various localities and agencies have issued safety reminders this month in an effort to increase awareness of increased traffic, school bus laws and child pedestrians.

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