Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Florida bus accidents are tragic, but school bus accidents tend to be even more frightening for parents and children. Each year, many Florida injuries to minors and children take place on school buses. About 25 million students nationwide take a school bus to school in the morning, and school bus accidents injure about 11 000 people and kill about 134 people nationwide each year.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), between 2000 and 2005, 19% of school bus accidents were in fact pedestrian accidents in which pedestrians were killed. In about 4% of cases, school bus drivers were the victims of these pedestrian school bus accidents and in about 5% of cases, school bus passengers were the victims. In about 70% of school bus accidents, fatalities occurred to occupants of other vehicles (rather than the school bus itself).

According to The National Safety Council, parents should teach their children these school bus safety rules before the start of the school year:

1) When waiting for the school bus, students should stay away from traffic and should avoid playing around. Sometimes, students get pushed into the street during games while waiting for the school bus and this can easily lead to a Florida car accident. Students should also avoid straying onto private property, streets, or alleys while waiting for the bus.

2) When boarding the bus, students should line up away from the road and should wait until the school bus has made a complete stop and has opened its doors before approaching the vehicle. Teach younger children to use the handrail when entering the school bus.

3) When on the bus, students should sit down and remain quiet. Standing can cause serious injuries if the bus is in an accident. Each year, Florida brain injuries occur during school bus accidents because students were standing or were not seated during a collision. It’s important that students avoid distracting the bus driver as well. Many Florida bus accidents are caused by distracted drivers. When riding the bus, students should keep aisles clear. In the event of an accident, clear aisles make it easier to exit the bus.

4) When exiting the bus, students should wait until the bus comes to a complete stop before using the handrails to exit the bus. Students should stay well away from the bus and the wheels of the bus.

5) One of the most dangerous situations when exiting the bus is crossing a street after getting off the bus. This is the situation in which most Florida pedestrian accidents involving schoolchildren take place. Although cars are required by law to stop when they see a school bus, not all drivers do this. If your child has to cross a street after disembarking from a bus, teach your child to walk ten feet in front of the bus and then turn around and wait from a signal from the driver before crossing. Students should obey driver signals and keep an eye out for traffic while crossing the street.

Although school bus accidents are not as common as car accidents, they do cause many personal injuries each year. In the 2008-2009 school year alone, 158 school bus accidents took place in Florida. What is even more alarming is that in every case, school bus driver error was determine to be the cause of these accidents. In 28 of these accidents, at least one person sustained a personal injury.

Drivers are repeatedly warned to drive safely around school buses, since school buses carry children. However, this latest statistics suggests that while drivers may be getting the message, school bus drivers may require added regulations. In many of the 158 school bus accidents in Florida last school year, driver error resulted when a school bus driver failed to yield right of way. In some cases, driver mistakes – such as an illegal turn – caused the accident.

School bus accidents are an especial cause of concern because these larger vehicles can cause a great deal of damage. A school bus filled with students can weigh 40,000 pounds, while most empty school buses can weigh up to 28,000 pounds. In comparison, most passenger vehicles weigh 5,000 pounds or less. In a car accident involving a school bus, the passengers in a car are very likely to be harmed.

Also, most school buses do not have seat belt systems for students. In a car accident involving a school bus, the passengers of a car may be injured, but children inside a bus may also be jostled and may sustain serious injury. Children can easily fall in a bus that has hit a car, and these falls can result in head injuries, broken bones, and other injuries. As well, the trauma and fear that these children experience can last some time.

Obviously, school districts and schools have an obligation to hire safe drivers. If a school bus driver is found to have an unsafe driving record, a school district may be held liable or partly liable for any injuries the driver causes. The driver will generally also be held liable for any injuries caused by reckless driving.

Back to school means back to the school bus. While buses can be a very safe and environmentally-friendly way of ferrying children back and forth to school, school bus accidents, when they do happen, can be devastating. School bus accidents can cause brain injuries, broken bones, fatalities, and other serious personal injuries.

Parents can help prevent school bus accidents by teaching their children school bus safety. Teach your child to wait for the bus safely, for example. This means waiting for the bus away from the street and away from traffic. Teach your child to wait until the bus stops completely before approaching the bus. Teach your child to wait until the bus driver makes contact.

Many school bus accidents are in fact pedestrian accidents which occur when children are getting on or off the school bus. Therefore, teach your children to keep a safe distance from the bus when getting off the bus. Show children how to take five large steps and look back to ensure that the driver can be seen. Many children do not understand that drivers have blind spots, so ensure that your child understands this concept. Teach your children to look left and right before proceeding across a street after their hop off the bus. For younger children, accompany them to and from the bus and review these safety ideas until they become second nature.

In addition to teaching children how to ride the school bus safely, there are several things that parents can do to help keep their children safe on the school bus. Supervision is one of the most important factors to preventing school bus accidents. Supervision ensures that no child runs behind a bus, into traffic, or into a driver’s blind spots. Younger children, especially, need supervision to ensure that they don’t run into the street while playing. If you cannot supervise your child to and from the school bus each day, have an older sibling do this or organize a group of parents who can take turns watching the school bus stop.

In addition to supervising, parents can ensure that their children are safe when heading to the bus stop. Ensure that all your child’s possessions are securely stored in a backpack. If your child loses a paper, he or she may bend down to pick it up near the bus and this may prevent the driver from seeing your child. If your child is carrying items loosely and an item is carried away by the wind, he or she may chase after it into traffic. In addition to keeping all items in a backpack, ensure that your child doesn’t war anything with long straps or drawstrings that can get caught in the school bus door.

If you notice anything dangerous about a bus driver or a bus stop, talk to your school’s transportation director, school office, or school district. If the school bus stop is in a busy area, for example, you can request to have the stop moved to a safer and quieter location so that all the children will be safer.

Buses of all types transport people around cities and rural areas across the state of Florida and across the country. From tour buses to city buses, school buses, and chartered buses, buses are an economical and usually safe way to travel. However, buses are sometimes in accidents. Accidents involving buses can be pedestrian accidents, car accidents or bus-bus collisions. In every case, serious personal injury or even fatalities can occur.

If you have been in a bus accident, it is important that you visit a doctor or emergency room right away. Even if you are lucky and seem to be fine, keep in mind that some injuries are not immediately apparent. Some fatal brain injuries, for example, do not show symptoms for an hour or more. It is better to be safe. A visit to a medical professional can save you from serious complications.

In addition to seeing a doctor, you should begin to gather as much information as you can. If possible, write down the bus driver’s name, the bus vehicle or license plate number, insurance information for the bus, contact information for witnesses, and anything else you can think of. Take pictures if you can and be sure to get copies of any medical reports. All this information can help you make a claim. Even if you are rushed to the hospital and cannot take any information from the scene, get copies of the police report and medical reports and start to keep a journal of your injuries.

After a bus accident, it is important that you exercise caution when talking about the accident or signing any papers. Hire a qualified Florida personal injury attorney soon after the accident. A good lawyer will ensure that your rights and claims are safeguarded. Try not to discuss the accident or sign legal papers unless your attorney is present.

Bus drivers and owners have a duty to keep their buses safe. If you have been injured in a bus accident, one of the inevitable questions will be whether a bus company or driver has done everything possible to provide a safe form of transportation. Your attorney may wish to launch an investigation into the road conditions, weather, and bus maintenance or bus condition at the time of the accident. This can help determine whether negligence or mechanical failure contributed to the accident.