There have been two serious school bus accidents just days apart in Florida, resulting in injuries to a total of 21 students, serious injuries to one bus driver, and the death of another driver. Although there appears to be no connection between the two incidents, it does raise an alarm about our children’s safety.
Bus accidents are rare but, like all commercial vehicle accidents, they can be especially dangerous. Even though school buses have a number of built-in safety features, there is ongoing concern that more could be done to prevent injuries to children riding in buses, such as installing seat belts or increased driver safety training.

SUV crashes head-on into school bus; 18 injured, SUV driver dead
The first of the two wrecks occurred last Friday morning, January 28, in Pinellas County. About 38 students were on their way to Paul R. Smith Middle School in Holiday when a woman driving a sport utility vehicle smashed head-on into the bus.
The woman was catastrophically injured in the car accident and later died. The bus driver was taken to a hospital in serious condition, and 17 students were hospitalized. The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating the cause of the fatal accident.

Two school buses collide, injuring 4 students
Yesterday in Brevard County, the driver of a school bus for the Imagine Charter School in West Melbourne was transporting 24 students when he rear-ended another school bus. The accident occurred just before 8 a.m. February 2 in Palm Bay.
“The Imagine school bus rear ended the other bus,” said a reporter from Palm Bay, according to the Orlando Sentinel. “A total of 24 children were on board the Imagine school bus which is contracted through ANS Transportation out of Naples.”

According to police, the 71-year-old driver failed to stop in time at an intersection, which caused her to rear-end the second school bus that was stopped there. No children were on the second bus.

Four injured children were taken to the hospital, and the driver was cited for failure to use due care while driving.
Because of the size and momentum of the large vehicles, any commercial vehicle accident can result in serious or even life-ending injuries. Please take extra care whenever you see a school bus on the road.

Sources:
• Orlando Sentinel, “Driver dies after crashing into school bus north of Clearwater; 17 students hospitalized,” February 2, 2011
• Orlando Sentinel, “Four students hurt when two school buses crash,” January 28, 2011