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| School Bus/Car Accident September 25, 2002 Pikeville, N.C. The driver of this vehicle ran a stop sign and cut off a school bus loaded with elementary school students 6 miles east of Highway 117 near Pikeville, N.C. The bus then crashed into the side of a nearby barn. A 15-year-old passenger in the car died. The children on the bus were treated for minor injuries. |
| School Bus Accident December 2, 1996 Pikeville, N.C. A school bus ran off the road and flipped over. 5 adults and 24 children (ages 3-5) injured No photograph available |
| School Bus/Tractor-trailer Accident May 21, 1985 Highway 13 Snow Hill, Greene County, N.C. Near the Wayne County Line 7 killed (6 of those were children), 20 children injured No photograph available |
| The Prestonsburg School Bus Disaster Prestonburg, Kentucky February 28, 1958 27 Killed (26 of those were children) |
| On the morning of 28 February 1958, a junk dealer slowed to investigate a truck off the road in a ditch. Behind him, a Floyd County school bus, apparently not seeing his wrecker in time, struck the rear of the vehicle, swerved across U.S. 23, and plunged into the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River. The normally docile stream had been transformed by rain and flooding into a swiftly moving river twenty feet deep. What might have been a multi-injury accident became a tragedy as panic-stricken schoolchildren broke windows and fought to get out the back door before the bus sank. Of the forty-three on board, sixteen escaped. The rest - twenty-six children and the driver - were carried downstream and under the water in the fierce current. It took 2 1/2 months to recover all the bodies. The National Safety Council called it the worst highway accident involving children in the nation's history. |
| PHOTOGRAPHS OF SCHOOL BUS ACCIDENTS |
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| School Bus Safety: Does Your Child Know The Rules? Every day, approximately 20 million students use school buses as transportation to and from school. Although school buses represent the safest form of highway transportation, there are a number of safety factors of which both student and drivers should be aware. Please be cautious whenever school buses are present. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), over the past 12 years, an average of 35 school-aged children died in school bus-related accidents each year. In this average, nine were occupants on the school bus, while 26 were pedestrians. NHTSA also reports that an alarming two-thirds of all accidents occurred outside of the bus. Children are often eager to get off the bus because they are excited to tell their parents about all of the fun they had at school that day. It is crucial that parents re- enforce the school bus safety rules children learn at school. MESSAGE TO PARENTS You may also want to drive the child’s school bus route with them to practice the proper safety precautions they can take to help ensure their child enjoys a safe ride to and from school. We encourage you all to discuss the following safety measures with your children: School Bus Safety Rules 1. Always arrive at the bus stop early. 2. Prior to boarding, wait until the bus has come to a complete stop, the door opens, and the bus driver says that it’s okay to board. 3. Always walk on the sidewalk when preparing to cross the street near a bus. Make eye contact with the driver so that you are sure he or she sees you. 4. Never walk behind the bus. 5. If you are walking beside the bus, walk at least three(3) giants steps away. 6. Take extra precautions to make sure that clothing with drawstrings and book bags do not get caught in the handrail or door. 7. Never stop to pick something up that you have dropped when a bus is stopped. Wait until the bus has driven off to avoid not being seen by the driver. 8. Watch out for cars. Sometimes drivers get in a hurry or become agitated with school buses and fail to realize that a small child may be about to cross the road. Motorists.... 1. Remember that children are unpredictable in their actions. Take extreme caution when traveling in a school zone. 2. If there are no sidewalks, drive cautiously. Be more alert to the possibility of children walking in the road. 3. Slow down and prepare to stop whenever you see yellow school bus lights flashing. 4. Never pass a school bus when there are flashing red lights. This is a sign that children are getting on or off the bus. 5. Learn and obey the school bus laws in North Carolina. If you pass a school bus that is stopped with flashing red lights, you can lose your driver’s license. The NC Dept. of Motor Vehicles places 5 points on your license for doing this. Also, insurance companies also see you as a hazardous driver and may increase your insurance rates also. REMEMBER, DRIVING IS A PRIVILEGE NOT A RIGHT Please don't abuse that privilege... |
| SCHOOL BUS ACCIDENTS |
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