United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

School Bus Safety

Millions of children across the nation ride on a school bus every day – that’s why school bus safety is important in every community. Use this material to educate the public about bus stop safety, including illegal school bus passing. 

Many assets are available in English and Spanish. Share this information with partner organizations to help spread the message across all communities.

A reminder, National School Bus Safety Week is October 21-25 — an opportunity to increase safety messaging.

Facts

School bus facts, stats and reports from NHTSA's National Center for Statistics and Analysis

 Get More Facts & Reports
  • From 2013 to 2022, there were 976 fatal school-transportation-related crashes, and 1,082 people of all ages were killed in those crashes — an average of 108 fatalities per year.
  • From 2013 to 2022, there were 198 school-age children who died in school-transportation-related traffic crashes; 35 were occupants of school transportation vehicles, 80 were occupants of other vehicles, 76 were pedestrians, 5 were pedalcyclists, and 2 were an “other” nonoccupant.
  • From 2013 to 2022, there were 1.5 times more fatalities among pedestrians (169) than occupants of school transportation vehicles (111) in school transportation-related crashes.
  • From 2013 to 2022, there were 111 occupants killed in school transportation vehicles; 50 were drivers, and 61 were passengers. Most (71%) of the people killed in school-transportation-related crashes were occupants of other vehicles involved in the crashes.
  • School buses are statistically the safest way to transport school children. Unfortunately, dangers still arise: From 2000-2022, there were 55 fatalities in crashes that involved a driver illegally passing a stopped school bus, an average of 2.4 fatalities a year. Almost half of those fatalities (25) were pedestrians who were 18 years old or younger.

For facts translated in Spanish, visit NHTSA.gov/Espanol.

Social Media

Sample social media posts are available for you to use on your various social media platforms, including Facebook, X and Instagram.

Talking Points

We've prepared talking points related to school bus safety. Some are for drivers, and others are for parents and students. After downloading, we encourage you to add local stats and facts to the document. 

Variable Message Board

STOP MEANS STOP

STOP FOR

SCHOOL BUSES

END ILLEGAL

SCHOOL BUS

PASSING

KEEP KIDS SAFE

SLOW DOWN FOR

SCHOOL BUSES

SCHOOL BUS

STOP SIGN IS

THE LAW

OBEY THE SIGN

STOP FOR SCHOOL

BUS STOPS

Download All Text

Graphics

Asset Type

English
Kids Ahead | English 4 animated | 4 static
Same Stop Bus | English 4 static
Stop Means Stop | English 4 animated | 4 static
Yellow and Red | English 4 animated | 4 static
English
School Bus Alicia | English 4 animated | 4 static
School Bus Jordan | English 4 animated | 4 static
School Bus Kaitlyn 4 animated | 4 static
School Bus Quiz | English 4 static
Spanish
Kids Ahead | Spanish 4 animated | 4 static
Same Stop Bus | Spanish 4 static
Stop Means Stop | Spanish 4 animated | 4 static
Yellow and Red | Spanish 4 animated | 4 static
Spanish
School Bus Alicia | Spanish 4 animated | 4 static
School Bus Ariana | Spanish 4 animated | 4 static
School Bus Jorge| Spanish 4 animated | 4 static
School Bus Quiz | Spanish 4 static

Videos

Video | School Bus Safety | Motorist :30 English with Spanish subtitles
Video | School Bus Safety | Pedestrian :30 English with Spanish subtitles

Banner Ads

Asset Type

Static | English
Alicia Static | 7 Sizes
Jordan Static | 7 Sizes
Kaitlyn Static | 7 Sizes
Static | Spanish
Alicia (Spanish) Static | 7 Sizes
Ariana (Spanish) Static | 7 Sizes
Jorge (Spanish) Static | 7 Sizes
Animated | English & Spanish
School Bus Banner Ads | Animated_English 3 Versions
School Bus Banner Ads | Animated_Spanish 3 Versions

Live Reads

We've produced live reads that can be used on radio. There are five options: 60, 30, 15, 10 and 5 second reads.

National School Bus Safety Week

October 21-25, 2024 is National School Bus Safety Week and you'll see increased communication related to school bus safety. You can use any of the materials available on this page to increase your school bus safety messaging.

In addition, sample news releases can be downloaded and used during National School Bus Safety Week.

Additional Resources