The National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT) recently named October 20 through October 24 as National School Bus Safety Week.  The NAPT, an advocacy group aimed at protecting children, annually schedules the third week of October as National Safety Week, and launches a campaign to make people/drivers aware.  This years theme, “Stop on red, kids ahead.”  NAPT also compiles statistics related to child injuries from school bus-related accidents.

During National Safety School Bus Safety Week, The federal Department of Transportation (DOT) announced new regulations and funding designed to make school buses safer.  The new regulations include higher seat backs, lap and shoulder belts on smaller buses, and standards for seat belts on larger school buses.  The National Highway Transportation Safety Association (NHTSA), provides numerous publications, resource guides, and statistical research promoting school bus safety awareness to educate students, bus drivers, and other motorists about proper behavior aimed at reducing risk of school bus related injuries and fatalities.

School bus safety has been a hot topic in the news.  In addition to the national safety promotions that are occurring, the Minnesota Star Tribune reports that a federal grand jury in Madison, Wisconsin indicted the semi-truck driver acquitted of state charges last year in the school bus accident that killed five and injured dozens near Eau Claire. The driver, 25-year old Michael Kozlowski, has been indicted on federal charges after the National Traffic Safety Board (NTSB) determined via an investigation, that Kozlowski improperly falsified his driving logs.   On the day of the accident in question, Kozlowski allegedly fell asleep at the wheel.  When his vehicle hit the shoulder, he tried to turn back onto the roadway, flipping his vehicle into the occupied school bus.

Although its not clear whether or not new school bus safety regulations would have saved lives in the Eau Claire accident, the new regulations should help to prevent injuries in the most common types of school bus collisions, such as rear end and T-bone impacts.

If your child is injured in a school bus accident or any other type of motor vehicle crash, contact the Law Office of James W. Dodson, P.A., for FREE written materials discussing your rights and mistakes to avoid in any potential claim.