Despite the polarizing nature of school bus occupant restraint systems and historically low driver salaries, a survey conducted in 2008 and 2009 for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and recently released to the public found that the major challenge revolves around school bus stop safety. In fact, behavior at the bus stop was listed four times in the top 10 overall concerns. No. 5 is passengers as pedestrians in the loading/unloading zone, No. 6 is horseplay at bus stops and No. 9 is student passengers standing too close to the road at bus stops.

The report "Special Safety Concerns of the School Bus Industry," written by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Daecher Consulting Group and MaineWay Services for the Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program, also identified several other challenges of more importance to pupil transporters, or at least the 198 who responded to the survey. [Editor's Note: The report can be accessed at STN's Safety Web Resources page.]

That's not to say school bus driver pay, or lack thereof, is not a concern. The median salary is only $29,810, despite "taxing" work conditions that require drivers to "contend" with students that range in age from 4 to 19 and to deal with issues and controversies involving the school district, parents, students and employers. The result are continuously high-turnover rates, No. 19 on the list, that threaten child safety in and around the school bus.

But respondents said inattentive or distracted drivers in other vehicles (No. 2) as well as distractions to the school bus driver (No. 3) presented greater risks to students. Students not sitting properly in their seats came in as the fourth biggest concern; lack of funding for fleet operation, maintenance and equipment, seventh; violence or bullying among students, eighth; and noise levels on the bus, tenth.

For example, researchers found that, while each state requires driver physicals, there is no specific literature that centers on these exams. Other driver concerns include distraction, not just by cell phones but also by food and drink, and increased student bullying. The authors said that bus driver jobs are made more difficult by school districts that inconsistently discipline students.

While the industry awaits public release of the TSA's school bus threat assessment, the synthesis also utilized a literature review to document current information on the various safety issues encountered by school bus operators and how those issues are addressed, any barrier to improvements and suggestions to make improvements by focusing on the driver, the driving environment, technology and equipment, and organizational design. Specifically, the report touches on everything from security to driver hiring and training practices to technology and equipment issues.

And when it does come to seat belts, the report found no literature discussing usage by drivers, which most states require.

When it comes to vehicle design, the report says that loading and unloading zone fatalities "underscores the continuing need for improvements in hood design, windshields, and other features that might improve driver visibility.

The report also offers a breakdown of how students get to and from school. The estimated 55 million trips per day (10 billion per year) equates to a quarter of all student trips and 28 percent of the student miles traveled, and school buses are only responsible for 2 percent of all student fatalities and 4 percent of injuries suffered during the school commute. Meanwhile, vehicles driven by teen  represent 14 percent of all student trips and 16 percent of the miles traveled but account for 55 percent of the deaths and 51 percent of the injuries that occur.