(updated Jan. 2, 2007) — The 36th National School Bus Loading Survey released prior to the Christmas weekend by the Kansas Department of Education’s School Bus Safety Unit indicates school bus loading/unloading fatalities decreased to 13 during the 2005-2006 school year — a 35 percent improvement from the 20 reported fatalities reported in 2004-2005 — but with a troubling trend of nearly half of those occurring at the school bus rear-wheel position.

Meanwhile, the industry could take heart that training efforts and crossing gate equipment implemented to address students crossing at the front of the bus appear to be working. At this writing, the reported zero confirmed deaths at the front of the school bus would be the fewest since the survey was first published in 1970. The number of rear-wheel fatalities actually remained consistent with previous years, indicating more training is necessary to address this problem.

Larry Bluthardt, the state pupil transportation director for Kansas who oversees the compilation of the National School Bus Loading Survey, said the 13 total students were confirmed to have died outside the school bus in the loading/unloading zone. The figure matched independent research conducted by School Transportation News, and it was seven less than was reported for the 2004-2005 school year.

Seven of the 2005-2006 loading fatalities, which occurred during normal school commute hours of 6 to 9 a.m. and 2 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday from September 2005 through June 2006, occurred at the hand of the students’ own school buses.

Meanwhile, six students were killed by motorists who illegally passed the stopped school bus.

The 13 total student fatalities occurred in nine states. Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas all recorded one student death each in the loading/unloading zone. West Virginia and Wyoming each had two student fatalities, and Virginia had three. The 5-, 6-, 8-, 12-, and 13-year-old age groups accounted for two fatalities each. One fatality each was recorded for the 4-, 10-, and 14-year-old age groups. Eight students were boys and five were girls.

The report in full will be posted on the Kansas School Bus Safety Unit Web site.
A summary of the 36 years of reports can also be found on the School Transportation News Web site.

School Transportation News, December 2006. All rights reserved.