The
following information is provided as a guide to some of the most frequently
asked questions about school bus transportation. The list of questions
does not pretend to be inclusive. Visit other sections of this website
to learn more about school buses, school bus safety, and school transportation.
And how many children ride school buses?
Why are school buses painted yellow?
What is the number of persons who can safely sit on a school bus seat?
Why don't school buses have seat belts?
What are the arguments in favor of compartmentalization?
What are the arguments favoring seat belts?
Do any states require seat belts on large school buses?
What about school bus fatalities?
Where does fatality information come from?
What about busing for integration purposes.
How
are school buses regulated?
There appear to be different styles of school buses.
Big ones, little ones and so on. What are the
standard school bus types and styles?
Is school transportation a large enterprise?
There are more than 450,000 yellow school buses on U.S. roads and about 70,000 in Canada. The industry spends more than $15 billion annually, most in the form of reimbursement to school districts for state-supported transportation costs. Return to Top
And how many children ride school buses?
In the United States, about 23,500,000 children ride school buses to school, and then return home on school buses. That's about 55 percent of the K-12 population. When you multiply the daily ridership times the number of school days school buses provide the United States with an estimated 10 billion student rides annually. Return to Top
Why are school buses painted yellow?
In 1939, delegates to the first National Minimum Standards Conference wanted a uniform color so school buses would be recognized by the same color nationwide. A second consideration was cost since manufacturers charged additional for special colors. Plus, delegates concluded that for safety sake, yellow was easier to see in fog, rain, and other bad weather conditions.
National School Bus Chrome Yellow was first adopted at that conference. By the way, the conference was held at Teachers College, Columbia University, April 10-16, 1939. All 48 states were represented, usually by someone from the state department of educaiton. The group called itself the "National Council of Chief State School Officers," and H.E. Hendrix, State Superintendent of Public Instruction of Arizona, was the first president.
In 1974 the federal government approved Standard 17. In this standard, which has since been revised and is now a highway safety guideline, the federal government suggested that school buses should be painted National School Bus Chrome Yellow. That's when the states started to use yellow on all new buses. At present there is no federal law that requires school buses to be painted yellow. It is up to each state to do so. Some states, South Carolina for example, paint some of their school buses, in this case activity buses, white though the bulk of the state's fleet is painted school bus yellow. Return to Top
What is the number of persons who can safely sit on a school bus seat?
Federal regulation does not specify the number of persons that can sit on a school bus seat. The school bus manufacturers determine the maximum seating capacity of a school bus. The manufacturers use this number, which is based on sitting three small elementary school age persons per typical 39 inch school bus seat, in the calculations for determining the gross vehicle weight rating and the number of emergency exits. School transportation providers generally determine the number of persons that they can safely fit into a school bus seat. Generally they fit three smaller elementary school age persons or two adult high school age persons into a typical 39 inch school bus seat.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends that all passengers be seated entirely within the confines of the school bus seats while the bus is in motion. Federal motor vehicle safety standard No. 222, "School Bus Passenger Seating and Crash Protection" requires that the interior of large buses provide occupant protection so that children are protected without the need to buckle-up. Occupant crash protection is provided by a protective envelope consisting of strong, closely-spaced seats that have energy-absorbing seat backs. Persons not sitting or sitting partially outside of the school bus seats will not be afforded the occupant protection provided by the school bus seats.Return to Top
What about seat belts? Why don't school buses have seat belts?
Small school buses do, large school buses, with a few exceptions, don't. Small buses, that is those under 10,000 lbs., are required by federal law to carry seat belts. That's because these smaller buses are judged to be closer in size to automobiles and light trucks, and the federal government requires a level of occupant protection similar to what it requires for automobiles and light trucks. However, the same is not required for large school buses for a wide variety of reasons. Large buses typically weight 23,000 lbs or more.
Seat belts are not required because the U.S. Department of Transportation and others, including Transport Canada, have determined that compartmentalization is the preferred occupant protection system. Return to Top
Compartmentalizaiton is a passive occupant protection strategy unique to school buses. Student riders are surrounded by a compartment of energey absorbing material -- 4" thick foam seats, seat frames that bend to absorb crash forcesa, and a vehicle designed to absorb energy. The idea is the crash forces will be dissipated or absorbed before they get to the student passengers. Return to Top
What are the arguments in favor of compartmentalization?
Compartmentalization is a passive strategy. It exists without any action required on the part of the children or extra supervision by the drivers. Return to Top
What are the arguments in favor of seat belts on school buses?
The principle arguments in favor of mandating seat belts on large school buses include protection in side impact collisions, prevention of ejection in the event of rollover accidents, carryover value to adulthood of learning proper seat belt use as a child, and low cost to install. Click here to link to another Frequently Asked Question section on this website that takes a closer look at this volatile subject. (Close the second window on your browser to return to this section.) Return to Top
Where seat belts mandated on large school buses?
To date only three states, New York, New Jersey and Florida have mandated two-0point lap-shoulder belts belts on large school buses. California has enacted legislation that would require three-point occupant restraint systems on large buses starting July 2005. In addition, since February 1996, seat belts have been required on minibuses used in school transport in Great Britain. Return to Top
How safe are school buses? I hear about school bus accidents quite often.
According to the National Safety Council, school buses are the safest form of ground transportaiton. In fact they are about 40 times safer then the family car. Return to Top
What about fatlities? School bus fatalities do occur!
Yes they do. In an average year, about 25 school children are killed in school bus accidents. One third of these are struck by their own school bus in the loading/unloading zone, one third are struck by motorists who fail to stop for the school bus, and one third are killed as pedestrians approaching or departing the school bus stop. Very few are killed inside the bus.
The most common fatality involving a school bus is to a motorist who hits the bus. There are about 120 Americans killed annually in this type of fatality. Return to Top
Where does information about school bus fatalities come from?
There are three major sources: the National Safety Council, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Kansas Dept. of Education. The NSC offers both fatality and injury data, though its data is based on projections and extrapolations. Through the Fatal Accident Reporting System, or FARS as it is known, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration collects data on all highway fatalities--automobiles, trucks, buses, pedestrians, bycylists, etc.--in the nation. The agency has very strict criteria a fatality must meet to be included in its database. For instance, from FARS we know that an average of 120 motorists are killed annually when their automobile runs into a school bus. That's the most common fatality related to school buses.
The annual School Bus Loading & Unloading Zone Survey by the Kansas Dept. of Education, published in December or early January, reports the number of fatal accidents in the so called "danger zone" around the school bus. The danger zone is defined as the area 10 feet in front of, behind, and to both sides of the school bus. The data shows that is where most of the school bus accidents and fatalities to school children occur. They are either run over by their own school bus or struck by a motorist passing the stopped school bus. This series of data goes back to 1968. It only tracks student fatalities outside the bus. It does not compile data about fatalities or injuries to students or drivers inside the bus. Nor does it track fatalities to motorists who may collide with a school bus, nor data about student lives saved through the use of seat belts. Efforts are currently underway to expand the survey to include injury data. Return to Top
The principal sources of national injury information about school buses is the National Safety Council and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Many states annually publish injury and fatality data also.
The NSC projects injury data nationwide based on reports submitted to it by state departments of education. Return to Top
For the last 30 years or so we've heard alot about busing for integration purposes. What is the status of busing?
No one knows for sure how many court-ordered busing plans are--or were--in place. Not even the U.S. Dept. of Justice keeps track of this information. However, in its heyday, experts in the field estimated there were as many as 400 court-ordered busing plans. Busing for integration purposes still exists, but more commonly it is now being reversed. Urban centers such as Cleveland and Denver have totally eliminated court-ordered busing. Return to Top
How are school buses regulated?
School buses are probably the most regulated segment of the transportation industry. That's probably due to the fact that they carry children, and parents care about their children.
The federal government only regulates the industry at the manufacturing level. Through a series of federal motor vehicle safety standards, Uncle Sam requires all school buses to be manufactured to stringent safety standards. But federal jurisdiction only prevails until the vehicle hits the road. Then it becomes a state responsibility. States nationwide have extensive school bus regulations, typically in their motor vehicle laws and also education laws. Again, no one knows for certain, but research by School Transportation News has uncovered more than 500 state laws governing school transportation.
In addition, school districts, as public entities, typically have extensive policies governing their school bus operations. These policies reflect both federal and state laws.
