School bus safety: Issues and controversy

The first school bus was a horse-drawn wagon. In 1869 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts led the nation when it passed legislation to utilize public funds to transport school children. Throughout the twentieth century, federal and state efforts have been directed at updating school buses and bus transportation policies and programs. Safety issues have been at the heart of such efforts since school bus transportation began. However, controversies and dilemmas have evolved concerning minimal standards for bus equipment and procedures for having children board the bus. School bus safety is both an economic and a public health issue. States, most often, make individual decisions about issues of school bus transportation and bus safety because few federal mandates exist. Unfortu- nately, there is a lack of reliable school bus accident data (Transportation Research Board, 1989). As a result of these state variations and a dearth of research findings, states and individual school districts are left to make important safety decisions based on financial resources or constraints and on incomplete information about the effectiveness of school bus safety features and practices.