Transport i bezpieczeństwo · 26.10.1998

School Bus Research Plan

On August 7, 1998, NHTSA sent to Congress a report titled, ``School Bus Safety: Safe Passage for America's Children.'' The report outlined NHTSA's current and future actions on school bus safety. A comprehensive research plan for the next generation of occupant protection in school buses was announced. This notice seeks comments and information pertinent to the execution of that plan. A copy of this report is available on NHTSA's web site at: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ people/injury/buses/schbus/schbussafe.html. Every year, approximately 440,000 public school buses travel about 4.3 billion miles to transport 23.5 million children to and from school and school-related activities. The school bus occupant fatality rate of 0.2 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) is much lower than the rates for passenger cars (1.5 per 100 million VMT) or light trucks and vans (1.3 per 100 million VMT). School bus transportation is one of the safest forms of transportation in the United States. On average, nine school bus occupants per year die in school bus crashes. While each of these fatalities is tragic, the numbers of fatalities among school bus occupants are extremely small when