School Bus Safety

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney I’d like to take this opportunity to remind my readers that school is back in session and in your everyday drive you will be coming into contact with those large yellow things with blinking lights called school buses. They are yellow and have blinking emergency lights so that drivers will practice safety around them so that children don’t die.

Two Nashville area automobile school bus collisions leave three children hospitalized with injuries. The Nashville accident occurred when a pickup truck slammed into the rear of a school bus stopped at a railroad crossing. The second school bus automobile accident occurred when a teen aged driver slammed into the back of the bus.

Since 1996, 1,536 people have died in school transportation-related crashes an average of 140 fatalities per year. Most of the people who lost their lives in those crashes (72%) were occupants of other vehicles involved. Non-occupants (pedestrians, bicyclists, etc.) accounted for 20 percent of the deaths, and occupants of school transportation vehicles accounted for 7 percent.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney I’m trying to visualize how these accidents could have taken place. School buses, as I mentioned above, are large and yellow and the rear end of the bus is adorned with an array of warning lights and signs that remind the drivers following them that the school bus always stops at rail road crossings.

Analyzing these case from only the information in the articles is difficult, but it’s obvious that both of the drivers who hit the buses were somehow distracted by something not related to their driving and not paying attention to the road in front of them. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes. Nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds before the event.  Primary causes of driver inattention are distracting activities, such as cell phone use, and drowsiness.

If you or a family member is injured or killed in Tennessee school bus accident contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and put a Board Certified Civil trial lawyer on your side.

Nashville School Bus Collision

Two Nashville area automobile school bus collisions leave three children hospitalized with injuries. The Nashville accident occurred when a pickup truck slammed into the rear of a school bus stopped at a railroad crossing. The second school bus automobile accident occurred in Lebanon when a teen aged driver slammed into the back of the bus.

Since 1996, 1,536 people have died in school transportation-related crashes an average of 140 fatalities per year. Most of the people who lost their lives in those crashes (72%) were occupants of other vehicles involved. Non occupants (pedestrians, bicyclists, etc.) accounted for 20 percent of the deaths, and occupants of school transportation vehicles accounted for 7 percent.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney I’m trying to visualize how these accidents could have taken place. School buses, if you haven’t noticed, are large and yellow and the rear end of the bus is adorned with an array of warning lights and signs that remind the drivers following them that the school bus always stops at rail road crossings. If you are looking out through your windshields they are hard to miss.

Analyzing these case from only the information in the articles is difficult, but it’s obvious that both of the drivers who hit the busses were somehow distracted by something not related to their driving and not paying attention to the road in front of them. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes. Nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds before the event. Primary causes of driver inattention are distracting activities, such as cell phone use, and drowsiness.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Nashville automobile accident you owe it to yourself to consult with an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to learn about your rights and remedies.

Practice School Bus Safety

A thoughtful public school official in Alcoa, Tennessee listened to the district’s school bus drivers and conducted a study of dangerous areas along the school pick up and delivery routes. According to an article on the web site of WBIR a Knoxville TV station, Director of Schools, Tom Shamblin has suggested that the School Board to remove certain stops that were considered dangerous. A vote is scheduled for the December 15^th Board meeting. I rooting for the clear thinkers on the school board.

According to the National Safety Council In the selection of school sites, major consideration should be given to the safety of pupils riding school buses.  These vehicles will be forced to utilize the roads in and around the school site plus public highways leading into the school area.  High-density traffic flow near school exits and entrances due to the proximity of super highways, periodic commercial traffic or massive commuter traffic from industrial plans should be avoided. It is also suggested that boards of education solicit the help of school transportation professionals, school superintendents, traffic engineers, and other state officials in evaluating possible school sites.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration since 1996 there have been about 417,705 fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes. Of those, 0.33 percent (1,387) were classified as school transportation-related. Since 1996, 1,536 people have died in school transportation-related crashes, an average of 140 fatalities per year. Most of the people who lost their lives in those crashes (72%) were occupants of other vehicles involved. Non-occupants (pedestrians, bicyclists, etc.) accounted for 20 percent of the deaths, and occupants of school transportation vehicles accounted for 7 percent.

It’s up to clear thinking public officials to address these issues and it is our responsibility as motor vehicle operators to do our part in making the roads safe for our children. Teach your children school bus safety, teach your teen drivers to pay particular attention in school zones and by all means make yourself a good example to others. If you see a driver acting dangerously dial 911 or *847 for the Tennessee State Troopers.

If you or a loved one is injured in a Tennessee school bus crashes you owe it to yourself and your family to take advntage of a free consultation with one of the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.

Teach School Bus Safety

I like to take every opportunity to bring important safety information to my clients and blog readers. With school back in session I thought it might be time to share some important information with parents so that they can take adequate steps to insure the safety of their school age children who ride the school bus. These tips also apply to urban children who rely on public transportation. When talking about school bus safety what better organization to refer to than First Student, Inc., one of the leading private school transportation companies in the U. S.

Review the following suggestions and share them with your children to assure that your children’s daily trip to and from school ends as it is supposed to.

Leave plenty of time to get to the bus stop. When you rush, you may not follow traffic safety rules.

Walk on the sidewalks, where available.

When waiting for the bus, stay away from the street. And don’t play around—so you are aware of traffic and can follow safety rules.

Make sure the driver can see you at all times by staying ten giant steps away from the outside of the bus.

Wait for the bus to stop completely before you approach it to get on or before you stand up to get off.

Clothes or backpacks should not have drawstrings, toggles or key chains. They can get caught on bus handrails and doors.

Hold the handrail so you don’t trip on the stairs.

Find a seat and sit down immediately.

Talk and laugh quietly with friends, but do not scream, it distracts the driver.

Do not put your head, arms, papers or anything out the window.

If you drop something near the bus, don’t pick it up. The driver may not see you. Instead, ask the driver for help.

If you have to cross the street, wait until the driver lets you know it’s OK.

Stay away from the bus wheels at all times – especially the back wheels where it’s hard for the driver to see you.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defines a school transportation-related crash is a crash which involves, either directly or indirectly, a school bus body vehicle, or a non-school bus functioning as a school bus, transporting children to or from school or school-related activities. Since 1996 there have been about 417,705 fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes. Of those, 0.33 percent (1,387) were classified as school transportation-related. Since 1996, 1,536 people have died in school transportation-related crashes — an average of 140 fatalities per year. Most of the people who lost their lives in those crashes (72%) were occupants of other vehicles involved. Non occupants (pedestrians, bicyclists, etc.) accounted for 20 percent of the deaths, and occupantsof school transportation vehicles accounted for 7 percent. Since 1996, 159 school-age pedestrians (younger than 19) have died in school transportation-related crashes. Over two-thirds (67%) were killed by school buses, 6 percent by vehicles functioning as school buses, and 28 percent by other vehicles involved in the crashes. One-half (50%) of all school-age pedestrians killed in school transportation-related crashes were between the ages of 5 and 7.