Two students were killed in a school bus accident in Houston this morning. The bus driver and the other two students on board were hospitalized. Witnesses were shocked and horrified watching the bus nosedive off the overpass, flip over, and land on its side on the embankment below. The accident was reportedly caused by another driver who swerved into the bus while trying to avoid being hit by another vehicle she believed was drifting into her lane.
Students More Likely to be Injured Boarding and Exiting the Bus
In collisions with other vehicles, it is rare for students on board the school bus to be killed. The majority of fatalities in these crashes are people in the other vehicles. Students are at greatest risk while boarding and exiting the school bus. They are at risk of being hit by other vehicles and by the bus itself.
While you can’t control what other drivers are doing, you can teach your kids some important safety rules that will help them avoid getting injured while boarding and exiting the bus and while walking or bicycling to school.
Kids Need to Speak Up
We have seen a very disturbing trend of bus drivers texting while driving with students on board, although that does not appear to be the case in the tragic Houston accident. In December, 2014, a Tennessee school bus accident killed three on board and injured two dozen people including the bus driver. In June, police announced that the school bus driver had been texting right before the crash.
Make sure your kids know it is unacceptable for their bus drivers to text while they drive, and that they should report it right away. In most states it is illegal for school bus drivers to text with students on board, but there are still a few states that allow it.
For more on bus safety and other school safety, view our Top 5 Back to School Safety Tips.
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