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The National School Bus Loading and Unloading Survey is a collection of fatality accident records provided by the state agencies responsible for school transportation safety and/or accident records. Only those fatality accidents involving K-12 school children in or around the loading or unloading areas of a school bus or transit bus are included in this survey. Fatalities that occur on-board a school bus are not reported here. Nor are fatalities that occur to motorists who strike, or are struck by, a school bus.

School
Year
Going
to
School
Coming
Home
Total
Killed
Front
of
Bus
Back
of
Bus
No
Info/
Other

Killed by Passing Motorist
# of States
Reporting
Fatalities
2006-07
4
3
7
2
1
0
4
50
2005-06
4
8 (+1)*
13
0
7
0
6
9
2004-05
3
17
20
7
7
0
6
15
2003-04

5
4
9
1
2
0
4
8

2002-03
6
5
12
5
1
0
6
10
2001-02
8
5
13
1
4
0
8
10
2000-01
1
8
9
2
3
0
4
7
1999-00
10
12
22
7
4
0
11
13
1998-99
10
8
18
5
4
2
7
14
1997-98
2
8
10
2
3
1
4
7
1996-97
7
12
19
5
4
5
5
17
1995-96
11
14
25
9
3
3
10
17
1994-95
12
7
20
6
5
3
6
12
1993-94
6
22
32
14
9
3
6
17
1992-93
6
14
22
9
2
5
6
17
1991-92
6
14
20
6
4
3
7
17
1990-91
4
13
18
10
2
0
6
16
1989-90
3
14
17
9
5
0
3
16
1988-89
2
14
16
8
3
0
5
14
1987-88
8
24
32
8
9
4
11
17
1986-87
14
22
42
16
6
6
14
22
1985-86
14
31
45
15
11
2
17
24
1984-85
5
21
30
15
6
2
7
22
1983-84
6
25
31
15
8
0
8
24
1982-83
6
22
28
12
5
0
11
17
1981-82
9
28
37
19
7
0
11
19
1980-81
4
24
30
16
5
2
7
17
1979-80
13
26
39
20
5
0
14
21
1978-79
11
44
57
28
10
0
19
26
1977-78
18
36
54
22
9
0
23
26
1976-77
10
32
42
19
7
0
16
25
1975-76
7
29
40
13
9
3
15
23
1974-75
16
34
51
26
6
8
11
22
1973-74
29
39
73
24
14
0
35
32
1972-73
21
37
58
24
13
0
21
26
1971-72
25
37
62
24
6
0
32
28
1970-71
24
46
75
14
16
0
45
26
Totals
350
760
1,151
438
224
50
433
  

* Activity trip fatalities

Source: Kansas Department of Education, Pupil Transportation Unit

Over the 37 years of this series, 67 percent of the fatalities occured to students ages 2 to 8 years of age. Students departing the bus or on their way home from school experienced 61 percent of all fatalities. School buses were the cause of 54 percent of the total fatalities while motorists who passed a stopped school buses with its red light flashing, struck and killed nearly 46 percent of the total fatlities..

Compiled annually by the School Bus Safety Unit of the Kansas Department of Education (and previously the Kansas Department of Transportation), this series started with the 1970-1971 school year.

The survey shows fatalities that occur going to school, coming home, on activity trips, and by motorists that pass a school bus that has stopped to load or unload school children. Survey results are usually released in December for the previous school year.

Visit the website of the Kansas Department of Education to view a 37-year history of the the National School Bus Loading & Unloading Survey. It is available in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.

Notes: (1) Fatalities during activity trip transportation are not included since only six occured during the three decades reported. One activity trip-related fatality occured in 1970, 1973, 1974,1990, and one in 2005; two occured in 1978. (2) Fatalities involving school children that occur on public transit buses have only been included since 1996. The data is spotty since the public transit industry does not report for this study.

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