WASHINGTON -- Children are at far more risk
traveling to and from school in private passenger vehicles --
especially if a teen-age driver is involved -- than in school
buses, says a new report from the National Academies' Transportation
Research Board. Bicycling and walking also place students at greater
risk than traveling by school bus. National data assessing the
risk of different modes of school transportation need to be made
available to help parents, students, and officials at the state
and local levels make more informed decisions regarding safety,
said the committee that wrote the report.
"Each state, school district, and private school must assess its
own situation and circumstances," said committee chair H. Douglas
Robertson, director, Highway Safety Research Center, University
of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. "The goal is to improve the safety
of all children traveling to and from school, and to provide information
to communities so that they can make informed choices that balance
their needs and resources."
Every year, about 800 school-age children are killed in motor
vehicle crashes during normal school travel hours -- weekday mornings
and afternoons during school months -- accounting for about 14
percent of the 5,600 child deaths that occur on the nation's roadways.
Of these 800 deaths, only about 2 percent are school-bus related,
while 74 percent occur in private passenger vehicles and 22 percent
are the result of pedestrian or bicycle accidents. More than half
of all deaths of children between age 5 and 18 occur during normal
school travel hours when a teen-ager is driving.
When students are injured or killed in crashes involving school
buses, the link to school travel seems obvious, but when such
casualties occur while traveling to and from school by other modes
of transportation, the association is often not made. Congress
asked the National Research Council to study the safety issues
posed by all travel modes so that an accurate comparison could
be made.
The report considered six transportation modes. In assessing buses,
the committee looked at school buses as well as public transit
buses and motorcoach services. Passenger vehicles were divided
into two categories, those driven by individuals 19 or older and
those driven by operators under 19 years of age, mostly students.
Data on pedestrians and bicyclists traveling to and from school
also were examined.
The dramatic difference in risk across transportation modes at
the national level suggests that more can be done to manage and
reduce those dangers, the committee said. School districts should
facilitate travel by safer modes while working to improve others
that are less safe. For example, walking and bicycling could be
made safer by improving sidewalks and protection at street crossings
as well as building more bike paths. A dialogue among parents,
schools, and other relevant organizations also needs to be established,
encouraging collaboration to promote safe practices for students
using all modes.
To help identify the risks of school travel,
the committee developed a risk-management framework. This framework
should be included among the tools used to make decisions on locations
of schools, changes in the amount of student parking provided,
or changes in the area serviced by school buses. For example,
increasing the distance that students must live from school to
qualify for school-bus service may save money but it also shifts
children to travel modes that are less safe. Alternatively, providing
school-bus service for middle school children attending after-school
activities could reduce the risk of injury and fatality significantly.
These examples, however, are based on national averages and do
not reflect the variations that exist on a local or school-district
level.
More research and evaluation are needed to provide local decision-makers
with better guidance on how to reduce school travel risks, the
committee said. Data limitations also pose problems. At present,
a lack of uniformity in local- and state-level data hinders risk
analyses in individual school districts. National data provide
helpful insights, but could be improved by using consistent definitions.
Before gathering new data, however, the cost-effectiveness of
doing so needs to be examined.
The study was sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The National
Research Council is the principal operating arm of the National
Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. It
is a private, nonprofit institution that provides independent
advice on science and technology issues under congressional charter.
A committee roster follows.
Copies of The Relative Risks of School Travel: A National Perspective
and Guidance for Local Community Assessment are available for
free on the Internet at http://www.nap.edu. Printed copies will
soon be available for purchase from the Transportation Research
Board; tel. (202) 334-3213, fax (202) 334-2519, or e-mail TRBSales@nas.edu>.
Reporters may obtain a copy from the Office of News and Public
Information (contacts listed above).
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
Transportation Research Board
Committee on School Transportation Safety
H. Douglas Robertson (chair)
Director
Highway Safety Research Center
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill
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