School Bus

School bus-related crashes killed 110 people nationwide in 2024, down 14% compared to the 128 deaths in 2023, according to National Safety Council (NSC) tabulations of data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

A school bus-related crash is defined by NHTSA as any crash in which a vehicle, regardless of body design, used as a school bus is directly or indirectly involved. This includes incidents involving school children getting in or out of a vehicle.

From 2015 to 2024, about 71% of the deaths in school bus-related crashes were occupants of vehicles other than the school bus, and 15% were pedestrians. About 6% were school bus passengers, 4% were school bus drivers, and 3% were pedalcyclists.

Of the people injured in school bus-related crashes from 2015 to 2024, about 34% were school bus passengers, 9% were school bus drivers, and 52% were occupants of other vehicles. The remainder were pedestrians, pedalcyclists, and other or unknown.

Of the people injured in school bus-related crashes from 2015 to 2024, about 34% were school bus passengers, 9% were school bus drivers, and 52% were occupants of other vehicles. The remainder were pedestrians, pedalcyclists, and other or unknown.

Characteristics of school bus transportation

According to the Schoolbus Fleet, in the 2024-2025 school year, an estimated 483,041 yellow school buses provided transportation service daily in the United States. About 20.3 million elementary and secondary school children ride school buses to and from school each day.

School buses are the best option for transporting kids to school, and they are safer than walking or riding in a car. To make them even safer, NSC supports the adoption of lap-and-shoulder belt safety restraints.

The interactive map allows you to explore crash details of the 110 school bus-related fatal crashes in 2024. The filters on the right side of the map allow you to search for crashes by state and weather conditions, and indicate if speeding or distracted driving was reported as a contributing circumstance. More details are also available by hovering over the red circular crash symbols.

2024 experienced two school bus involved crashes that resulting in five or more deaths. On March 11th a crash in Rushville IL resulted in five deaths, while a crash on May 14th in Ocala FL resulted in eight deaths.

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How to Use Injury Facts® Charts and Tables

Sources:

  • Fatality data are NSC tabulations of Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data.
  • Injury data are NSC tabulations of the NHTSA Crash Report Sampling System.
  • School bus transportation data accessed April 10, 2026, from Schoolbus Fleet