Table 1.  All Casualties in School Bus Collisions, 1988-1997

All casualties of school bus collisions are presented in Table 1, with a breakdown by occupants of school buses (drivers and passengers), occupants of other vehicles and pedestrians. This is the only table in this report to include the occupants of other vehicles involved in collisions with school buses.

From 1988 to 1997, school buses were involved in 29,193 collisions: 177 fatal, 5,659 personal-injury and 23,357 property-damage collisions. The 29,193 collisions involved 29,488 school buses: 180 were involved in fatal collisions, 5,745 in personal-injury, and 23,563 in property-damage collisions.

In the 177 fatal collisions involving 180 school buses, there were 204 fatalities (an average of 20 per year). Of the 204 fatalities, 11 (5 percent) were school bus occupants (8 passengers and 3 drivers); 51 (25 percent) were pedestrians; and 142 (70 percent) were occupants of other vehicles involved in collisions with school buses.

Over the 10-year period, 5,745 school buses were involved in 5,659 personal injury collisions, resulting in 10,480 personal injuries (an average of 1,048 per year). Of the 10,480 injuries, 4,741 (45 percent) were school bus occupants; 650 (6 percent) were pedestrians; and 5,089 (49 percent) were occupants of other vehicles. Injuries¹ varied from minimal (where no treatment was required for minor abrasions and bruises) to major (where the victim was admitted to hospital for treatment or observation).

¹Not all provinces and territories report a breakdown of the data element "Injury severity of person".