When you put your children on the bus in the morning, you expect them to be safe and you believe the driver to be qualified to transport this precious cargo. Sometimes, this is a major assumption. Did you know that there were 340,039 fatal crashes during the years of 2004-2013 and of those accidents, 1,214 involved a school bus or transport? Astounding as it may seem, this is the truth.

In this same time period, there were 1,344 people who died in school sponsored traffic accidents. This translates to 134 fatalities per year. That is just too many. With the size of the bus, you would think that the kids would be safe. Unfortunately, this isn’t true. What exactly is the definition of a school transport?

The definition of school sponsored transport is a bus or even a non-bus that is transporting students under the age of 18. They are taking the students to activities that are during the school operating hours.

Twenty-five million students start the school day on a bus. They are designed for safety by being large, imposing, have flashing lights and drivers who are supposedly the top-of-the-line.

There are always ways to improve the system of transportation and this means that school buses can be improved on:

— Don’t roughhouse when getting on the bus– Don’t go near any type of traffic– Don’t stray when waiting– Line up when the bus comes– Wait until the bus comes to a full stop before trying to get on– Use the handrail provided on the bus

Sometimes, no matter how many rules you follow and how careful you are, an accident occurs. Your child is hurt through no fault of his or her own and you are distraught. You may have to miss work while your child recovers, not to mention the huge medical bills that will surely come. Being aware that this can happen is one thing, actually experiencing it is another. Having someone to talk to about this who has knowledge and experience in the law will be a vital help at such a traumatic time.

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “School-Transportation-Related Crashes,” accessed Aug. 28, 2015