School bus accidents are often in the news in Georgia and elsewhere. Fortunately, fatal school bus accidents in Georgia and the rest of the country are very rare.
When children tragically lose their lives, the crashes make headlines. Two years ago, a school bus crash in Houston in Texas caused widespread horror when the bus careened off an elevated roadway and crashed to the ground below. Two female students lost their lives.
An article in USA Today noted school buses are relatively safe. Children spend thousands of hours on these buses every year without incident.
Although we read many reports of students being hospitalized in these wrecks, the injuries sustained are usually minor and a death is rare.
Fatal school bus accidents are rare
USA Today noted that from 2004 to 2013, drivers in the U.S. were involved in 340,039 fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes.
The figures compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), revealed that 1,214, or just 0.4 percent, were classified as involving school transport such as a school bus or other vehicle functioning as a school bus taking children to school or on sports or field trips.
Every year, about 134 people lose their lives in school-vehicle-related wrecks. Just 8 percent of these people are on the bus. Most of the fatalities – about 75 percent – are drivers or passengers in other vehicles involved in crashes with school buses.
Children are safer inside school buses than outside. USA Today noted of the 327 school-age children killed in school bus wrecks since 2004, just 54 were children riding in buses. Accidents involving these vehicles are almost three times as deadly for occupants of the other vehicles, NHTSA found.
This is not surprising given the size and weight of school buses. There are also ongoing questions about the competence of some school bus drivers.
A typical type of school bus accident occurred in Henry County in Georgia in October.
Media reports stated a Henry County school bus with four students on board was in an accident with another vehicle at Hampton-Locust Grove Road and Wycliffe Drive in Locust Grove.
Four students from Luella High School and the bus driver were examined at the scene and released by paramedics. The driver of the other vehicle was killed, according to media reports.
If you or a loved one has been hurt in a wreck involving a school bus, you may have grounds to sue a school district for injuries caused. Call the Law Offices of Michael West today at (404) 913-1529.