DAYTON — Ohio roads are going to be busier as nearly 800,000 students head back to class.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says buses are the safest form of transportation for schoolchildren.
Ohio State Highway Patrol says school buses are involved in less than 1% of all traffic crashes in Ohio.
Troopers inspect nearly 200,000 school buses every year to make sure they are safe for students.
“We’re looking for any of the components that could be compromised, you know, the safety for travel,” Sgt. Josh Carter said.
State troopers are looking at thousands of parts, such as brakes, lights, seats and even every sticker.
Sgt. Carter said every detail matters.
“They’re what transports our precious cargo, which would be our children. You know, it’s the safest form of transportation anywhere in the nation: a school bus,” Carter said.
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Troopers aren’t checking to see if the bus has seatbelts because Ohio law doesn’t require them on school buses.
Brittany Fisher is trying to change that.
“My children would not have been as injured, and Aidan would still be alive had there been seatbelts on school buses,” Fisher said.
OSHP data shows school buses were in 7,179 crashes since 2021. Six of those were deadly.
The crash where a Northwestern Local Schools bus flipped over in a crash on the first day of school in 2023 is included in that data. The crash killed one student and 20 others were hurt.
Fisher’s kids were on that bus.
“I saw my youngest son, um, and I scooped him up, and all the children were, I mean, it was just devastation,” Fisher said.
Since then, she’s been trying to get Ohio to join eight other states to require seatbelts on school buses.
The National Vehicle Motor Safety Act of 1966 is the reason we have seat belts in cars today. So how have school buses somehow become exempt? It’s been 60 years since that act," Fisher said.
“I think it’s okay that we don’t have seat belts. For one, who’s going to make sure that the kids are putting their seat belts on?” Amy Hobbs, Mad River Schools bus driver, said.
Amy Hobbs understands why seatbelts are needed. She’s been driving Mad River students to school for more than 30 years.
She said the training drivers must go through is extensive
“It is a lot of training. They gotta, you know, you gotta learn to drive the bus. You gotta learn how to, there’s a certain way you cross students and when you’re unloading and loading,” Hobbs said.
Centerville Schools Transportation Director Andy Trick says the biggest danger for students is other drivers.
“It’s a frequent problem. It seems to be getting worse,” Trick said.
The National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services surveys stop-arm violations every year.
It found 1100 illegally passed 3700 buses across Ohio on May 1.
“It’s a major safety concern, you know, anytime that we run our red lights, a child’s life is at risk, so you know it’s super important to make sure that people are paying attention,” Trick said.
Ohio requires everyone to stop for a school bus loading and unloading on roads with three lanes or less.
On four-lane roads, only drivers going the same direction as the bus have to stop.
“People out on the road, they need to slow down. They need to watch for buses, you know, when they got their stop arms out,” Hobbs said.
Drivers caught not stopping for a school bus picking up or dropping off students in Ohio could be fined up to $500 and their licenses could be suspended.
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