Public (Student) Transportation Accidents Information
Each school day more than 25 million children ride the recognizable yellow school bus back and forth to school and school related activities. Additionally, millions take these vehicles to camp, religious, athletic and youth events. There are an approximate 450,000 school buses in service to date. School buses travel 2 million miles every school day. About 16,000 school bus collisions occur annually, resulting in 12,000 injuries and 130 deaths involving school buses yearly.
Over the years, various groups have advocated the installation of safety belts in large school buses.
Among the arguments offered by
these groups is that encouraging
(or requiring) safety belt use
in school buses may foster
habits that carry over to the family automobile,
resulting in increased use or
encouragement of others to use
belts. Small, van type school
buses (fewer than 10,000 pounds
gross weight) are required to
have safety belts for all
occupants as standard equipment
since these vehicles are similar
to passenger cars. Although
school bus accident rates are
considerably low, school bus
accidents are still devastating
for all involved.
In an attempt to further prevent
students from sustaining
injuries or fatalities in school
bus accidents, school bus safety
backers are fighting to
implement seat belts in the
design of all yellow school
buses, arguing that the school
bus design has not changed since
1977.
Furthermore, in an effort to
prevent pedestrians and non-bus
occupants from being injured in
a school bus accident, states
have instituted safety
precautions that must be taken
by drivers in the vicinity of
school buses.
As cities across the nation
grow, congestion rises on our
highways and roadways. As a
result more and more individuals
choose to use public
transportation each year. With
more and more of the public
using Buses as a means of
transportation, the number of
injuries and even death
increases.
According to the University of
Michigan Transportation Research
Institute, based on information
from the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration,
there are less than 300 fatal
bus accidents in an average
year. Of those, nearly 30%
involve transit buses.
Bus accidents can be attributed
to driver negligence, inadequate
security, negligence, dangerous
roadways, weather conditions,
defective products and improper
maintenance.
If you or a loved have been
injured in a bus accident,
please fill out the form at the
right for a free case evaluation
by a qualified personal injury
attorney.
At the Law
Offices of Vincent J. Ciecka, P.C. we highly
specialize and been very successful in
obtaining high recoveries in public
transportation
injury related cases. If you have a
situation where you or someone you know
might be a victim of this type of injury due
to the negligence of someone else, please
contact us as soon as possible to discuss
your specifics and help you determine if
indeed you have a case so you can obtain due
compensation for such injuries.
