Room for Improvement in School Bus Safety 

< Nov. 08, 2006 > -- The number of American kids injured in nonfatal school bus accidents each year is nearly three times higher than previous estimates indicated, a new study finds.

The information was collected by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission as part of its routine surveillance system, in effect since 1978.

Among the nation's 23.5 million children and teens under the age of 19 who currently ride school buses, roughly 17,000 head to hospital emergency rooms each year because of injuries that occur on a school bus, the researchers report.

"This number is huge," says study lead author Jennifer McGeehan, a researcher at the Center for Innovation in Pediatric Practice with the Columbus Children's Research Institute at Columbus Children's Hospital in Ohio. "And it means these injuries are occurring much more frequently than previously thought, and parents need to be aware of that."

In the study, McGeehan and her team reviewed statistics on children under the age of 19 who were injured in a bus-related accident between 2001 and 2003. All of these children were treated at an emergency room in one of 99 hospitals across the US.

School Bus Injury Rates

Accident rates were nearly equal between boys and girls, and most of the patients were treated and released from the hospitals they attended. A little more than 46 percent of the patients were Caucasian and about 28 percent were African American.

A large proportion of injuries, more than 42 percent, were caused by car crashes. About 24 percent of the injuries occurred while children and teens were getting on or off a bus.

The highest injury rate was observed among the 11-to-14-year-old group, which accounted for 43 percent of all injuries. Lower-extremity injuries were the most common type of injury among this group and older teens.

The second most injured segment was the 5-to-9-year old group, where head injuries were most common. Teens aged 15 to 19 years old were the least likely group to sustain an injury.

Among all the patients, strains and sprains were the most commonly encountered injury. This was followed in frequency by contusions and abrasions (minor bumps and scrapes) in more than 28 percent of cases, and cuts (mostly to the head) in 15 percent of cases.

The authors emphasized that, since they focused only on patients who were taken to an ER after their accidents, the high injury rate might still miss many incidents. Children who went untreated or were treated by their parents, school nurses, or pediatricians were not included in the report.

Seatbelts and Extra Adult on Bus Could Help Reduce Injury

Based on the high numbers, the researchers believe that children would benefit from the presence of a second adult on the bus - in addition to the driver - who would be dedicated solely to supervising children.

And what about seatbelts? School buses typically do not require passengers to buckle up. The researchers said they could draw no firm conclusions on their potential benefit based on the current data.

However, the researchers called for further study on the subject, and said they supported the idea of including seat belts on buses.

"We absolutely advocate for the addition of safety belts to new school buses at a minimum," says McGeehan. "If I had children riding a bus I would personally want them in restraints."

Improve, Do Not Abandon Buses

"We do know that school buses still are one of the safest modes of travel," McGeehan adds. "So we aren't saying school buses are dangerous. But we think they may be providing incomplete protection that might not safeguard kids in the case of lateral crashes or rollover crashes."

"The school bus is a vehicle that has basically not been redesigned, with the exception of some added seat padding, in over 40 years, so we're dealing with a 40-year-old antique in terms of its body, its being prone to rollover, and its lack of traction control," says Alan Ross, president of the nonprofit National Coalition for School Bus Safety in Torrington, Connecticut.

 "They also allow the use of very flammable urethane material in the seating that is now barred from use in cars, boats and planes; there are inadequate emergency exits; and a poor two-way communication system between drivers and the outside world. All of these things need to be addressed," adds Ross.

Always consult your child's physician for more information.

Motor Vehicle Safety - Injury Statistics

The following statistics are the latest available from the National SAFE KIDS Campaign, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC ):

Injury and death rates:

• Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 14 and under.

• Children ages four and under account for 33 percent of motor vehicle-related deaths among children.

• Fifty percent of children ages 14 and under killed in motor vehicle crashes were not safely restrained.

• Approximately 220,000 children ages 14 and under suffered injuries in motor vehicle crashes in 2002.

• The majority of the children killed by airbags in motor vehicle crashes were unrestrained or improperly restrained.

• The majority (75 percent) of motor vehicle crashes occur within 25 miles of home.

• Most crashes occur in areas where the speed limit is 40 mph or less.

• About 73 percent of child safety seats or booster seats are improperly used.

• One-third of children ride in the front passenger seat, increasing the risk for injury and death.

• Properly installed and used child safety seats can reduce the risk of death by 71 percent for infants and 54 percent for children ages 1 to 4.

• Child safety seats can also reduce the need for hospitalization among children ages four and under by 69 percent.
  

Always consult your child's physician for more information.