According to a study conducted last year by the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration, student deaths were 61 times more likely to occur in passenger vehicles than in school buses during normal commute hours. Although school buses are considered one of the safest vehicles on the road (largely due to the fact that it is typically the driver of a second vehicle who sustains injury in the event of an accident), that doesn’t mean that school bus travel can’t be made safer for student passengers. A total of 34 student deaths were caused by school bus accidents in the 1998-2008 decade. And many of those school bus accidents were caused by distracted driving.
As discussed previously, distracted driving can be visual, manual or cognitive. This means it can be defined as chatting on a cell phone, sending text messages, changing the radio station or programming a GPS—but it can also be as simple as focusing on thoughts outside of the realm of driving. These distractions are as unsafe for motorists as driving while under the influence. Would you want your child riding with a bus driver who’d had alcoholic drinks before getting behind the wheel?
Although 17 states have laws in place to prevent school bus drivers from talking on a cell phone while driving, Florida currently has no such laws in place. As with many traffic regulations, it’s often up to the motor vehicle operator to make smart and safe decisions to prevent accidents. Because of the nature of their transport and cargo, school bus drivers should go out of their way to focus on their driving at all times—not only when children are riding in the vehicle, but especially when they are engaging in secondary activities like speaking on a phone or radio.
A December 2009 school bus accident in Lecanto, Florida, was the result of the driver speaking on her two-way radio, which drivers are trained to use for official communications while transporting students. This activity caused her to drive into the back of one vehicle ahead of her, which was stopped at a red light. In turn, this vehicle hit the car ahead of it. The driver of the rear-ended vehicle was sent to the emergency room with serious injuries, while several students on the school bus were treated for minor injuries. If a driver can be so detrimentally distracted while using equipment they are trained to use while driving, how much more distracted could they be by using a cell phone or handheld mobile device while on the road?
Without the laws in place to enforce safety, only a personal commitment to attentiveness can keep drivers and their passengers safe from reckless driving accidents. Motorists can help ensure the safety of schoolchildren by following all school bus traffic laws, such as coming to a complete stop when students are boarding or leaving a bus. You can also do your part by petitioning for legislation which would make it illegal for school bus drivers to operate handheld devices while driving, and stricter penalties for reckless bus driving.
Do you know how to safely and legally operate around school buses? Read the Gross & Telisman article about school bus laws to learn what’s allowed in the state of Florida.