Pupil Transportation in Vehicles Not Meeting Federal School Bus Standards

783621PDFTech ReportNTSB/SIR-99/02CrashworthinessSchool busesTraffic accident victimsStandardsStatesLawsRegulationsOccupant protection devicesPassenger vehiclesRestraint systemsSchool childrenFatalitiesUnited States. National Transportation Safety BoardUnited States. National Transportation Safety BoardNTL-PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION-Bus TransportationAGR-SAFETY AND SECURITY-SAFETY AND SECURITYUS Transportation CollectionThis report contains the findings of a special investigation conducted as a result of four fatal accidents involving nonconforming buses used to transport school children. In the first accident, on March 25, 1998, three children were ejected when the passenger van transporting them collided with a transit bus in Sweetwater, Florida. On March 26, 1998, two people were fatally injured when the specialty bus transporting the students collided with a truck tractor semitrailer in Lenoir City, Tennessee. On December 8, 1998, one child was ejected and fatally injured when the passenger van transporting the children collided with a pickup truck in East Dublin, Georgia. On February 16, 1999, in Bennettsville, South Carolina, three children were ejected and six children were fatally injured when the passenger van transporting them was struck by a tow truck. From its investigation, the Safety Board identified safety issues in the following areas: the adequacy of occupant crash protection and crashworthiness of nonconforming buses used to transport school children, the adequacy of State regulations and guidelines governing nonconforming buses used to transport school children, and the adequacy of State laws governing the use of restraint systems in nonconforming buses transporting school children