A total of 11 states, one fewer than the report intially released, saw students involved in fatal accidents around the school bus in this year’s survey, an increase from only five states from last year reporting. Illinois originally reported to the Kansas State Department of Education's School Bus Safety Unit that the student death reported was later found to have been a pedestrian fatality involving a school bus and did not occur during loading or unloading.

Of the now 17 fatalities, 10 involved a school bus and the remaining seven were caused by a vehicle passing a school bus. Of those struck by the school bus itself, four were struck at the front of the bus and seven at the rear.

“We were just absolutely wiped away by the jump up from five [in 2007], and we attribute it to the driver of the bus not paying attention,” said Larry Bluthardt, director of the Kansas State Department of Education’s School Bus Safety Education Unit, which puts the report together every year. “We pound the importance of FMVSS 111 into our drivers’ heads so that the mirrors are properly adjusted.”

The heavy snowstorms have also been an issue, according to Bluthardt, with plows piling snow into people’s driveways, making it more difficult for the school bus drivers to stay close to the right side and still allow room for the students to board the bus.

The majority of the fatalities occurred during morning routes, with only three happening in the afternoon (there is no information for the time of day for one of the fatalities).

“We discussed whether daylight savings time is a plus or a minus while they're loading and unloading,” said Bluthardt.

The data is provided by both individual states and through research of local news reports. The Illinois student fatality that was removed from the survey involved a 9-year-old boy who was walking to school on Nov. 8, 2008 when he was hit by a school bus. Bluthardt said the student was not a school bus rider and that the incident occurred on a clear, sunny day under dry conditions.