All of the available information indicates that today’s school buses are the

safest vehicles on the nations streets and highways.  The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) stated in it's April 2002 report, “School Bus Safety: Crashworthiness Research,”: Every year, approximately 450,000 public school buses travel an estimated 4.3 billion miles to transport 23.5 million children to and from school and school-related activities. The school bus occupant fatality rate of 0.2 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) is much lower than the overall rate for motor vehicles of 1.5 per 100 million VMT. If one considered the average number of passengers on school buses versus passenger cars, there would be even a larger difference in the fatality rates per passenger mile.

A 2002 study conducted by the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences stated: Each year approximately 800 school-aged children are killed in motor vehicle crashes during normal school travel hours.1 Of these 800 deaths, about 20 (2 percent) – 5 school bus passengers and 15 pedestrians – are school bus-related. The other 98 percent of the school-aged deaths occur in other motor vehicles … or to pedestrians, bicyclists, or motorcyclists.

In the State of Minnesota school buses which meet the standards contained in Minnesota Statutes and Department of Public Safety Rules must be utilized for all transportation service to and from school, or on school related activities, which is provided to students attending a school as defined in the Minnesota Compulsory Attendance Act, MS 120A.22, by a school or school distict.

School Bus service is defined in MS 169.01 Subdivision 6:
Subd. 6.    School bus.  "School bus" means a motor vehicle used to transport pupils to or from a school defined in section 120A.22 or to or from school-related activities, by the school or a school district, or by someone under an agreement with the school or a school district.  A school bus does not include a motor vehicle transporting children to or from school or which parents or guardians receive direct compensation from a school district, a motor coach operating under charter carrier authority, a transit bus providing services as defined in section 174.22, subdivision 7, or a vehicle otherwise qualifying as a type III vehicle under paragraph (5), when the vehicle is properly registered and insured and being driven by an employee or agent of a school district for nonscheduled transportation.

A school bus may be type A, type B, type C, or type D, or type III.

The modern school bus is the product of an evolving series of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards coupled with agressive school bus safety development by the school bus manufacturers. In 1939 the first national conference was called to develop uniform standards for school bus design and recommendations for school bus operations.  Representatives of all of the states, the Federal Government, and the school bus manufacturers attended this conference and helped develop the first National Minimum Standards for School Bus Operations.

In the intervening years there have been 11 additional National Conferences which have developed minimum standards that have been adopted by many states, including Minnesota.  These Conferences have developed new requirements for school bus design, construction, and operation, as well as guidelines for the safe transportation of school children.  Participants from Minnesota have represented school districts, school bus contractors, the Minnesota State Patrol, and the Minnesota Department of Education.

In 1977 the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration enacted a series of new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) for the design and construction of school transportation equipment.  These standards effectively redesigned the school bus and surrounded the student with "a circle of safety".  Buses manufactured after the effective date of the revised standards are referred to as "Post Standard".

Among other features the revised Standards mandated high back padded seats for passive passenger restraint in collissions, increased roof and joint strength, and different performance standards for school buses compared to other buses.  

All school buses must meet the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards:

• The roof must be strong enough to support one and one-half times the weight of the bus if it should roll over.
• The fuel system must be protected so that gasoline or diesel fuel cannot leak from the fuel tank and cause a fire in the event of a crash.
• Body joints, which hold the bus together, must be stronger than in pre-1977 models.
• Emergency exits must be improved over pre-1977 models.
• Seat backs must be approximately 20 inches high and cushioned with shock-absorbent padding. 
• Seats must be tightly spaced close together to compartmentalize school children in a "cocoon."  Seat spacing and design are referred to as "compartmentalization".

As a result of the passage of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 and the School Bus Safety Amendments of 1974, NHTSA currently has 35 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) that apply to school buses.  The 1974 amendments directed NHTSA to establish or upgrade school bus safety standards in eight areas: emergency exits, interior occupant protection, floor strength, seating systems, crashworthiness of the body and frame, vehicle operating systems, windshields and windows, and fuel systems. As a result of the 1974 amendments, three new motor vehicle safety standards were established and four existing standards were amended.

Today, there are four standards unique to school buses and six standards that have unique requirements specific to school buses. Those standards are:

• Standard No. 105: Hydraulic Brake System -- Requires school buses utilizing hydraulic brakes to stop in shorter distances.
• Standard No. 108: Lamps, Reflective Devices and Associated Equipment -- Requires red and amber signal lamps, which indicate the bus is loading/unloading passengers.
• Standard No. 111: Rearview Mirrors -- Requires the driver be able to see either directly or through a system of mirrors certain areas in front of and along both sides of the school bus.
• Standard No. 131: School Bus Pedestrian Safety Devices -- Requires a stop arm that extends on the left side of the bus to warn motorist when it is loading/unloading passengers.
• Standard No. 217: Bus Emergency Exits and Window Retention and Release -- Requirements that specify means of readily accessible emergency egress and the emergency exits easier for children to use along with increased conspicuity.
• Standard No. 220: School Bus Rollover Protection – Specifies minimum strength requirements for school bus roofs to reduce the likelihood of roof collapse in a rollover, and requires that emergency exits (except roof exits) be operable after the roof is subjected to forces that can be encountered in rollovers.
• Standard No. 221: School Bus Body Joint Strength -- Specifies minimum strength requirements for body panel joints to improve the structural integrity of the passenger compartment and to reduce the likelihood of lacerative injuries to occupants caused by the sharp edges of body panels that tear loose in crashes.
• Standard No. 222: School Bus Passenger Seating and Crash Protection -- Specifies seating, restraining barrier, and impact zone requirements for school buses. The standard relies on compartmentalization between well-padded and well-constructed energy absorbing seats to provide occupant protection. Specifies requirements for wheelchair restraint systems.
• Standard No. 301: Fuel System Integrity -- Specifies requirements for the integrity and security of the entire fuel system, including the fuel tanks, fuel pump, delivery system, emission controls, lines, and connections in severe barrier impact crash tests.
• Standard No. 303: Fuel System Integrity of Compressed Natural Gas Vehicles -- Specifies requirements for the integrity and security of the entire fuel system and connections in severe barrier impact crash tests.

NHTSA enforces these standards through its Compliance Test Program. The Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance conducts yearly compliance test programs to assure that school buses meet FMVSS’s. There have been numerous recalls to address noncompliances with FMVSS.