As millions of children in the U.S. return to classrooms, traffic patterns nationwide are altered. More school buses run their routes, and more families make morning drop-off trips. However, federal data does not support the claim that the back-to-school season produces a sharp increase in overall traffic fatalities.
Pedestrian Fatalities Among Children
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) tracks monthly traffic fatality data through its Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). According to NHTSA’s 2023 pedestrian data, 77% of all pedestrian fatalities occurred when it was dark. This proportion becomes particularly relevant as school schedules place children on sidewalks and crosswalks during early morning and late afternoon hours, when daylight decreases through the fall months.
NHTSA’s 2023 Children data report shows that 63% of child pedestrian fatalities in traffic crashes occurred during weekday crashes, defined as 6 a.m. Monday through 5:59 p.m. Friday. This timing corresponds with typical school schedules. In 2023, 171 children were killed as pedestrians in traffic crashes, representing 17% of all child traffic fatalities that year.
School-Transportation-Related Crashes
NHTSA tracks a distinct data category called school-transportation-related crashes, which covers any fatal crash involving a school bus or a vehicle being used as a school bus. The most recent 10-year report, covering 2013-2022, found that 1,082 people were killed in such crashes over that period, averaging 108 fatalities per year.
The breakdown highlights where risk is concentrated: 71% of those killed were occupants of other vehicles, not students. Pedestrians accounted for 169 of the deaths over the 10 years, more than the 111 school transportation vehicle occupants killed. Among school-age pedestrians, more fatalities occurred between 3 p.m. and 3:59 p.m. than during any other hour of the day, according to the same report, a period that corresponds with school dismissal and afternoon travel.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
