Every year, an estimated 20 million children ride school buses each day, and while riding a school bus is one of the safest modes of transportation for kids, it is not immune from the dangers of the road.

Data collected during a 10-year study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that from 2013 to 2022 school bus crashes resulted in approximately 132,000 injuries. There were also 976 fatal school bus accidents resulting in 1,082 deaths.

Overall, there are more than 13,000 bus accidents every year – roughly 51% of which involve an injury and 1.3% of which result in a fatality. There were 13,452 bus accidents in the U.S. in 2024. Of that total, 171 proved fatal for one or more persons involved. Last year, there were 128 recorded bus crashes reported in Mississippi. Four of those happened here in the Golden Triangle in the span of only a few weeks in August and September.

Three of those crashes involved drivers rear-ending buses. The other incident came when a truck with a trailer sideswiped a bus. Only one person – a student who suffered a bruised foot – was injured in any of these incidents.

Even so, the data shows that bus crashes can produce tragic results.

That’s why we urge drivers to exercise an extra measure of caution as the new school year begins. The rules are pretty simple: Each time a driver encounters a bus that has stopped with its red lights flashing and stop sign extended, Mississippi law requires drivers in both directions to come to a complete stop at least 10 feet away and to remain stopped until children have crossed the roadway and the bus has resumed motion, its red lights are no longer flashing, and its sign is retracted.

The only exception is if a driver is traveling on a divided highway with four or more lanes. Drivers traveling the same direction as the school bus should follow all of the standard procedures. Drivers traveling the opposite direction may continue to travel without stopping.

And while it is not illegal to pass a school bus with its yellow lights flashing, we believe drivers should avoid the temptation to pass even then. Noting the frequency of rear-end collisions, we urge drivers to increase the distance between their vehicles and buses as well.

The rules are designed to prevent injuries and deaths (most injuries and deaths are the drivers and passengers that collide with the buses).

As the school year begins in Lowndes County, school resources officers are riding bus routes to keep an eye out for drivers who pass stopped buses and report them to sheriff’s deputies. Any driver seen passing a bus illegally runs the risk of being ticketed. More than a thousand people die in crashes with school buses every year. Almost all of them were avoidable.

Whatever inconvenience is created when you find yourself behind a school bus, it’s certainly not worth passing a school bus illegally. The stakes are far too high, the burden to your consciences too heavy.

So exercise an abundance of caution when you are sharing the road with school buses. Remember: The cargo they carry is precious.

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.

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