Factors Contributing to School Bus Crashes

Abstract

School bus safety is a community concern because parents expect their children to be transported to and from school safely. However, relatively few studies have been devoted to examining the factors contributing to school bus crashes. In this study, a logistic regression model is used to delineate the factors that contribute to school bus collisions from collisions involving other types of buses. As expected, we find significant differences in crash factors arising from differences in exposure and operating characteristics. Surprisingly, we also find that school bus drivers are more likely to commit driving violations or errors than non-school bus drivers.