Is it safer for my child to ride the school bus or for me to take her to school?
A: Past data indicates that school buses are up to 12 times safer than cars, trucks, and motorcycles for children traveling to school. Traveling to school in any type of vehicle other than a school bus puts students at a greater risk for traffic injuries of fatalities.
Recent statistics support that past data. In the 2007-2008 school year, many more children died in car, truck and motorcycle accidents during the before and after-school commute than in school bus accidents. Only six children died in school bus crashes that year whereas 368 died in other passenger vehicle wrecks during those same commuting hours.
In the last 10 years, 34 children died in school bus accidents whereas 5,595 died in other passenger car wrecks during school commuting hours. Students traveling to school by bicycle and on foot are also at greater risk for injury and death than children on school buses. In the last 10 years, 936 children bicycling or walking to school have died in traffic accidents. Not all accidents are fatal, they can cause a range of injuries such as trauma to the head, broken bones, cuts, and internal injuries.
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