[Analysis] Bus Accident Statistics in the United States (2024)

In the United States, buses are relied upon to transport large groups of people and carry our children to and from school. Annually, as many as 700 million people travel by bus. Passengers, other motorists, and their families have a reasonable expectation that they will safely arrive at their destinations.

Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.

While collisions involving buses make up only a small portion of the total fatal accidents each year, the results are usually tragic. In fact, the NTSB has found that, per vehicle, buses and other commercial motor vehicles are more likely to be involved in fatal crashes than passenger vehicles.

In 2018, a drunk school bus driver collided with a dump truck, killing a 10-year-old student and a teacher in Carrolton, Texas.
On February 22, 2020 a charter bus carrying 21 people overturned in San Diego, CA, leaving three dead and another eighteen injured.

Even when passengers are kept safe, poor sightlines from the vehicle and negligent bus drivers can put pedestrians, cyclists, and passenger vehicle occupants at risk. In fact, historically, only 13 percent of those killed in bus accidents are occupants.

When, where, and how often do buses crash?

How Often Do Buses Crash?

On average, there arenearly 60,000 bus accidents each year in the United States.While most of these collisions result in property damage only, hundreds of people are killed and thousands more are injured. Researchers estimate that as many as 14,000 injuries occur in these crashes. Data shows that even though the number of bus crashes has increased over time, there are fewer fatal crashes.

From 2000 to 2018, fatal bus crashes have declined by 29 percent, while injury crashes have risen by 15 percent. In 2000, there were 323 fatal bus crashes, compared to 230 fatal bus crashes in 2018. However, in the case of injury crashes, the numbers rose from 13,000 in 2000 to 15,000 in 2018. Bus safety is regulated at state and federal levels and school buses are known to be some of the most regulated vehicles on the road. That may contribute to the decline of fatal bus crashes.

Year	Fatal Bus Crashes	Injury Crashes	Property Damage Only
1998	288	13,000	40,000
1999	313	14,000	48,000
2000	323	13,000	42,000
2001	289	11,000	42,000
2002	274	13,000	45,000
2003	288	14,000	44,000
2004	276	13,000	39,000
2005	278	12,000	38,000
2006	303	11,000	41,000
2007	280	11,000	45,000
2008	251	11,000	48,000
2009	221	9,000	47,000
2010	247	12,000	42,000
2011	243	13,000	43,000
2012	252	12,000	42,000
2013	282	18,000	48,000
2014	235	11,000	57,000
2015	259	14,000	53,000
2016	231	16,000	51,000
2017	231	15,000	51,000
2018	230	15,000	50,000
2019	231	N/A	N/A

How many people are killed or injured by buses each year?

From 1998 – 2019, 6,770 people were killed and an estimated 567,000 people were injured in crashes involving bus accidents.

Year	Fatalities	Injuries
1998	329	30,000
1999	373	36,000
2000	357	29,000
2001	331	25,000
2002	331	30,000
2003	337	31,000
2004	315	29,000
2005	340	23,000
2006	337	21,000
2007	325	24,000
2008	311	24,000
2009	254	20,000
2010	278	27,000
2011	284	24,000
2012	282	23,000
2013	320	38,000
2014	283	22,000
2015	297	24,000
2016	290	35,000
2017	276	25,000
2018	262	27,000
2019	258	N/A

However, most of those killed and injured are not bus occupants. During this time frame, a little under 10 percent of those killed were passengers on an involved bus, while the remaining deaths were occupants of other vehicles or pedestrians.

[Interactive Map] Fatal Bus Accidents in the U.S.

While the FMCSA provides general incident data for a larger range of years, it merely provides totals. In order to map data and dive deeper into the issue, we analyzed fatal bus collision data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Fatal Bus Crashes by State

During this time period, more fatal bus crashes occurred in New York (156) than in any other state. This could be, in part, due to the difficulties in navigating New York’s heavy traffic and bustling streets. In 2011, the World Wide Tours bus crash killed 15 passengers and injured 17 more on a highway in the Bronx, New York area. The bus was moving at high speed when it swerved off the road, flipped on its side, and struck a metal sign, which sliced through the length of the bus at the passenger seat level. The 2011 Bronx crash became known as one of the deadliest bus crashes in America. Driver fatigue was determined to be the cause of the crash, and World Wide Tours was responsible for “inadequate safety oversight.”

California, (150), Texas (145), and Florida (139) follow New York with the most fatal bus crashes and also have some of the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. In 2018, a truck driver lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a church bus in south Texas, killing the bus driver and 12 of the 13 passengers in the bus. The truck driver had been impaired by marijuana, combined with the misuse of prescription drugs used to treat seizures and panic disorders.

State	Fatal Bus Crashes	Deaths
New York	156	172
California	150	179
Texas	145	211
Florida	139	146
Pennsylvania	93	103
Georgia	69	75
Illinois	64	72
New Jersey	63	68
Maryland	49	49
North Carolina	45	51
Michigan	44	48
Ohio	42	45
South Carolina	38	46
Arizona	37	40
Tennessee	36	53
Wisconsin	34	38
Indiana	33	41
Missouri	33	36
Colorado	32	32
Virginia	32	34
Nevada	31	32
Washington	30	35
Massachusetts	29	30
Minnesota	24	29
Mississippi	24	34
Oklahoma	22	28
Kentucky	21	25
Connecticut	20	21
Alabama	19	21
Louisiana	18	24
Oregon	17	25
Utah	17	18
Delaware	14	17
Iowa	14	18
Hawaii	12	12
Arkansas	10	16
District Of Columbia	10	10
West Virginia	8	8
Montana	7	10
Maine	6	8
Nebraska	6	9
New Mexico	6	16
Alaska	4	5
Kansas	4	4
South Dakota	4	4
North Dakota	3	4
Rhode Island	3	3
Vermont	3	3
Idaho	2	2
Wyoming	2	4
New Hampshire	1	1

Which Bus Type is Involved in the most Fatal Collisions?

While fatal crashes involving buses of any kind have fallen sharply since 1975, some types of buses are more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than others. School buses and transit buses are most likely to be involved in fatal collisions.

From 1975 through 2019, 4,702 school buses and 4,702 transit buses were involved in fatal crashes in the United States.

Year	School Bus	Motorcoach	Transit Bus	Van-Based Bus	Other Bus Type	Bus Type Unknown
1975	130	29	131	—	18	19
1976	123	30	130	—	13	23
1977	126	33	123	—	14	25
1978	143	54	143	—	14	18
1979	150	37	123	—	21	16
1980	117	38	150	—	14	11
1981	110	48	150	—	20	14
1982	104	37	106	—	31	11
1983	99	41	105	—	40	22
1984	119	48	103	—	33	17
1985	126	29	116	—	33	33
1986	101	33	99	—	29	24
1987	132	29	115	—	46	31
1988	105	31	103	—	30	18
1989	109	32	120	—	25	25
1990	112	27	114	—	19	17
1991	106	39	86	—	26	17
1992	98	36	113	—	21	17
1993	112	28	82	—	21	20
1994	106	23	105	—	12	12
1995	109	23	101	—	23	15
1996	124	35	115	—	32	20
1997	117	37	109	—	15	19
1998	112	38	115	—	16	8
1999	139	38	106	—	19	17
2000	120	40	128	—	20	17
2001	119	38	104	—	16	15
2002	95	35	100	—	26	18
2003	113	26	104	—	30	18
2004	111	35	85	—	26	22
2005	111	38	83	—	34	14
2006	118	33	105	—	22	27
2007	109	35	113	—	16	8
2008	116	20	92	—	12	11
2009	89	38	77	—	9	8
2010	116	36	84	—	11	4
2011	98	41	68	25	10	3
2012	102	34	78	30	7	2
2013	114	44	82	28	10	4
2014	91	32	79	9	21	4
2015	99	34	93	14	18	5
2016	88	17	98	6	19	6
2017	73	13	97	31	16	4
2018	85	15	85	26	20	3
2019	89	5	84	–	46	8

Causes and General Bus Safety Tips

Potential causes of bus crashes can include faulty bus equipment, company policies and regulations, roadway and weather conditions, and driver-related problems such as distracted driving or driving under the influence. One of the most significant causes is driver fatigue when a driver’s performance and senses are impaired from mental or physical exhaustion and sleep deprivation. Driving fatigued increases the risk of crashing, and is especially common for bus drivers traveling longer distances or operating on tight schedules. Buses are harder to control, which can cause other drivers to enter into their lane prematurely or rear-end the bus. While buses are generally safe and have regulations and designs in place to increase passenger safety, preventable crashes occur every year as a result of driver error. If you are injured in a crash, speak to an experienced Portland bus accident attorney today.

Whether you are sharing the road with a bus or driving one, keep these tips in mind to increase safety:

Don’t tailgate a bus; always keep a considerable distance between vehicles when you are driving behind a bus. There is less visibility behind a bus, and that makes it difficult to brake in time.
Recognize warning signs of fatigue and don’t brush them off. Ignoring them will put passengers at a risk, as well as others on the road.
Follow the speed limit, and choose caution over impatience.