Seat Belt Laws May Help Reduce Number of School Bus Injuries

In the past few years, a string of school bus accidents has led school and government officials to raise questions about the safety of school children. As of now, there are only six states in America that require large school buses, weighing over 10,000 pounds, to have seat belts. California, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Texas and Florida have adopted this law to safeguard students against serious injuries in the event of a school bus crash.
It is important for both parents and children to feel confident that riding in a school bus is safe. However, recent accidents involving school buses have made this difficult to believe. Twenty-eight people were injured in one situation where a school bus driver ran a traffic signal and crashed into a car. In another case, a school bus turned too quickly and flipped over, leading to the hospitalization of five middle school students.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that 25.1 million children ride 474,000 school buses to and from school ever year. Out of this vast number of students, less than 8 passengers die in bus accidents every year. A larger number, approximately 8,000, are injured in school bus crashes every year. Nearly a quarter of the injuries happened as children were boarding or leaving the bus, or because bus drivers braked too hard.

If your child has been injured in a school bus accident, the driver of the school bus may be to blame. When a school bus driver acts in a way that is irresponsible or reckless, it is important that they are held accountable for those actions that could endanger the safety of their passengers. School buses are at a higher risk for collisions or accidents because they are in operation every day of the year, and they are the largest type of mass transit in the United States.

A school bus crash in Florida took the life of a 13-year-old girl and seriously injured 8 other students as well as the driver. This accident occurred when a tractor-trailer rear-ended the school bus and both vehicles caught on fire. Regardless of the specific circumstances that led to your child’s school bus accident, a Ft. Lauderdale injury attorney can help you investigate the possibility of filing an injury claim. An experienced attorney understands the traumatic and overwhelming emotions surrounding a school bus accident, and can provide the caring legal counsel you need to recover and seek justice for any wrongdoing that occurred.