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Complete Travel GuideGreatest Risk in School Travel Is Not on School Buses
by:
Lynn Bode
WASHINGTON -- Children are at far much risk traveling to and from school in private rider vehicles -- especially if a teen-age driver is involved -- than in school buses, says a new report from the National Academies' Transportation Research Board. Cycling
and walking likewise place students at greater risk than traveling by school bus. National data assessing the risk of some modes of school transportation need to be ready-made accessible to help parents, students, and officials at the state and local levels do much au courant decisions regarding safety, same
the committee that wrote the report.
"Each state, school district, and private school must assess its own situation and circumstances," same
committee chair H. Politician Robertson, director, Route
Security Research Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. "The goal is to improve the security of all children traveling to and from school, and to provide information to communities so that they can do au courant choices that balance their of necessity
and resources."
Every year, just 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 just about 14 per centum of the 5,600 child deaths that occur on the nation's roadways. Of these 800 deaths, only just about 2 per centum are school-bus related, spell 74 per centum occur in private rider vehicles and 22 per centum are the result of pedestrian or bicycle accidents. Much than half of all deaths of children between age 5 and 18 occur during normal school travel hours once
a teen-ager is driving.
When students are black-and-blue or killed in crashes involving school buses, the link to school travel seems obvious, but once
such casualties occur spell traveling to and from school by else modes of transportation, the association is often not made. Congress asked the National Research Council to study the security issues expose
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 charabanc services. Rider 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 likewise were examined.
The dramatic difference in risk across transportation modes at the national level suggests that much can be done to manage and reduce those dangers, the committee said. School districts should facilitate travel by safer modes spell working to improve others that are less safe. For example, walking and cycling
could be ready-made safer by up sidewalks and protection at street crossings as well as building much bike paths. A dialogue among parents, schools, and else relevant organizations likewise of necessity
to be established, encouraging collaboration to promote safe practices for students victimisation all modes.
To help identify the risks of school travel, the committee developed a risk-management framework. This framework should be enclosed
among the tools used to do decisions on locations of schools, changes in the figure of student parking provided, or changes in the area serviceable
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 likewise 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 required to provide local decision-makers with better guidance on how to reduce school travel risks, the committee said. Data limitations likewise 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 victimisation consistent definitions. Before gathering new data, however, the cost-effectiveness of doing so of necessity
to be examined.
The study was sponsored by the National Route
Traffic Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The National Research Council is the principal operative
arm of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. It is a private, non-profit-making institution that provides independent proposal
on science and technology issues under law-makers charter. A committee listing
follows.
Copies of The Relative Risks of School Travel: A National Perspective and Guidance for Local Community Assessment are accessible for free on the Net
at http://www.nap.edu. Written
copies wish presently
be accessible for purchase from the Transportation Research Board; tel. (202) 334-3213, fax (202) 334-2519, or e-mail TRBSales@nas.edu>. Reporters may receive 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. Politician Oscar robertson
(chair)
Director
Highway Security Research Center
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill
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