If you have a child in school who takes a school bus back and forth to class, you may be aware of the ongoing controversy about school bus driver pay and school bus safety standards. Safety advocates maintain that the relatively low pay offered to school bus drivers could result in a lower quality of driver and a lower standard of care regarding your child’s safety. But school bus transportation officials maintain that the weak economy has allowed employers more choice in selecting school bus drivers and that the quality of drivers has risen in recent years.
Our Houston school bus accident attorneys point out that school bus collisions aren’t necessarily caused by bus drivers that drink, do drugs, or smoke. The majority of the school bus injury accidents that we see are caused by the negligent acts of other drivers. For instance, last year, there was a tragic and fatal school bus accident near Temple, Texas that was caused by the driver of a Lowe’s truck.
HISD School Bus Rear-Ended by Passenger Vehicle on Friday, Resulting in Student Injuries
And on Friday morning on Rosehaven near Reed in south Houston, an SUV, a car, and an H.I.S.D. school bus were involved in a multi-injury collision. About 18 people were on the school bus at the time of the crash, and at least four of the students were hospitalized with injuries from the collision. The H.I.S.D. school bus was carrying students from the Pro-Vision School when the driver of another vehicle rear-ended the bus. (Source: Dale Lezon, Houston Chronicle, 3/22/13)
What actually caused the driver of the passenger vehicle to rear-end the bus was not stated. The Houston school bus accident attorneys at Denena Points, PC mention that driver distraction and driver fatigue are two frequent causes of rear-end wrecks, but equipment failure and impaired driving are among the other factors that might cause a rear-end wreck.
School Buses Remain One of the Most Statistically Safe Forms of Transportation
Our Houston school bus accident attorneys point out that about half a million school bus drivers take to the roads every day. Their buses carry millions of children to and from school each day. Yet as the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services carefully notes, school buses remain the safest mode of transportation for children going to and from school.
According to the U.S. NHTSA, between 2000 and March of 2011, only 0.34% of all fatal motor vehicle accidents involved a school bus or a school van. The NHTSA statistics also reveal that even when school bus accidents do occur, the occupants of the bus are less likely to receive injuries than the occupants of the other vehicles involved in the accidents. In other words, it is far safer for your child to take a school bus to classes than to walk, ride a bike, skateboard, or even ride in your passenger vehicle.
Learn more about the school bus safety features that protect your child. Click on this article by our Houston school bus accident attorneys. And if your child in injured in an accident, don’t hesitate to contact us for help. We always provide a free, no obligation initial legal consultation. Reach us at 281-369-4363 or through our online contact form.