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Series of School Bus Accidents Raise Issues of Children?s Safety

By Altman & Altman

A recent string of school bus accidents across the United States have caused parents to question the safety of the transportation vehicle normally considered the safest type of transportation for school kids.

Just this week, three people were injured, including one student on Friday near Zoarville, Ohio, when a school bus was involved in a multi-vehicle collision.

On Monday, a Georgia school bus carrying 27 junior and high school students overturned on the drive to school. 11 children were taken to the hospital for medical attention. Injuries included back and neck injuries.

On Tuesday, in Harrisonburg, Virginia, 28 people suffered injuries in a multi-crash collision involving a car and two school buses because the 70-year-old bus driver of one of the buses ran a traffic signal.

Last month, four students died and 14 people were hurt in Minnesota when a school bus struck a van and then a pickup truck before tipping over.

On February 27, five junior high school students were seen by hospital staff because they were involved in a rollover collision that occurred because the driver turned the bus too fast.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that 25.1 million kids ride 474,000 school buses to and from school throughout the United States. In 2005, 8,000 children sustained injuries in a school bus accident. Some 17,000 kids are treated in emergency rooms because of school bus crashes.

Common causes of school bus-related injuries include:

? School bus crashes
? Kids getting off the bus and being struck by the bus or an approaching motor vehicle
? Children slipping and falling on the buses
? Kids getting hurt when the driver steps on the breaks or turns to quickly

Common causes of school bus accidents:

? Speeding
? Driver inattention
? Driver inexperience
? Lack of driver training
? Poor road conditions

Federal law does not require that school buses provide seat belts for kids.

If your child was injured in a school bus accident anywhere in Massachusetts, one of our Boston, Massachusetts motor vehicle crash attorneys can discuss your case with you. You and your child may be able to recover personal injury compensation for the harm that all of you have suffered.

3 injured in TV school bus, car collision, Timesreporter.com, March 7, 2008

Concerns for Kids' Safety on the Rise After Spate of Yellow Bus Accidents, FoxNews.com, March 5, 2008

Related Web Resources:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

National Coalition for School Bus Safety

Full post as published by Boston Injury Lawyer Blog on March 08, 2008 (boomark / email).