The Relative Risks of School Travel A National Perspective and Guidance for Local Community Risk Assessment -- Special Report 269 (2002) / Chapter Skim
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4 Identifying and Managing Risks Associated with School Transportation
4 Identifying and Managing Risks Associated with School Transportation
Pages 118-144
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From page 118... ...
Accordingly, the risk factors associated with school travel, as well as potential interventions to reduce the risks most salient for each school travel mode, are reviewed in this chapter. To examine the risks involved in school travel, the committee grouped the risk factors into five categories that cut across the various school travel modes: (a)
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From page 119... ...
, who has studied the behavior and cognition of children, suggests that the degree of maturity necessary for safe behavior is reached between the ages of 9 and 12. To educate children about traffic safety and implement a successful school transportation safety education program, then, it is important to understand the abilities and limitations of school-age children as they relate to behavior in the roadway and in the school site environment (Dewar 2002b)
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From page 120... ...
contains source materials applicable to driving that address such human factors as response times, anthropometrics, visual and auditory performance, and information processing. This information is used by those who design vehicles, roadways, and traffic control devices.
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From page 121... ...
Some transit agencies and bus companies have developed administrative relationships with schools and school districts regarding not only discounted fares, but also disciplinary actions for students not complying with safe or appropriate ridership practices. Agencies responsible for transporting school children would benefit from guidelines regarding appropriate and effective training for bus drivers.
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From page 122... ...
There are 36 FMVSSs that apply to school buses, 6 of which specify unique requirements for school buses; 4 standards are applicable only to school buses, 21 apply to transit buses and motorcoaches (see Table 4-1) , and fewer apply to the various types of passenger vehicles.
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From page 123... ...
) X X X X X bX bX X cX X bX cX X X dX Vehicle Passenger continued( X X X X XX XX XX X X X Other Bus Bus X X X X a X XX a a X X XX X X X XX School Effect Braking Cars Cars Transmission and Systems Passenger Passenger Panel Than Than Interlocks Equipment Roof Other Other Systems Illumination Starter and Systems Standards and Associated Vehicles Vehicles Defogging Sequence, Washing and Partition Motor Motor and Safety and Fluids Tires for for Identification Lever Systems Devices Rims Tires Window, Rim Tires Shift and Brake and Defrosting Wiping Vehicle Subject Brake Mirrors Pneumatic Systems Location, Hoses Reflective Pneumatic Latches Selection Protection Vehicle Pneumatic Selection Brake Motor Standard Control Transmission Windshield Windshield Hydraulic Brake Lamps, New Tire Rearview Hood Theft Motor Retreaded Power-Operated New Tire Air Federal 4-1 Number Avoidance TABLE FMVSS Crash 101 102 103 104 105 106 108 109 110 111 113 114 116 117 118 119 120 121
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From page 124... ...
X bX bX b,c X b,c X b,c X b,c X X X X X X X b,c X Vehicle Passenger X e e e e f f f f e Other Bus X X X X X X X X X Bus X X e e e e X X X X XX f X f,g f,g f,g e X X X X School Standards Cars Safety Passenger Impact Components Devices Vehicle for Displacement Driver Tires Safety Interior Retention Systems Systems Systems in the Motor Systems Anchorage for Rearward Brake Door Protection Subject Brake Control Control Pedestrian Devices Car Mounting Protection and Crash Assemblies Assembly Federal Bus Control Restraints Protection Materials Systems ) Non-Pneumatic Locks Belt Belt Standard Motorcycle Motorcycle Accelerator Warning New School Passenger Crash Occupant Head Impact Steering Glazing Door Seating Occupant Seat Seat Windshield During (continued 4-1 Number TABLE FMVSS 122 123 124 125 129 131 135 Crashworthiness 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 212
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From page 125... ...
h X b,c X b,c X b,i X b,c X X X b,c X b,cX h X e X X e X i X c X X c X e X less. or h e a e X X X i X a X a e pounds X X X X X X X 10,000 of buses school on seats Protection Shock passenger to less.
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From page 126... ...
OPERATIONAL RISK FACTORS In terms of operational characteristics, state and local school districts have established extensive policies and programs to ensure the safety of school travelers. Much of the guidance for these actions comes from Highway Safety Program Guideline 17, Pupil Transportation Safety, issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
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From page 127... ...
Although other bus drivers certainly have responsibilities for monitoring and assisting school children and others in crossing, these responsibilities are limited. This is the case largely because passengers cross behind the bus, except when it is stopped at the near side of a signalized intersection and the signal instructs pedestrians to cross.
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From page 128... ...
. Passenger vehicles also have the ability to pick up and drop off passengers directly at their originating point and destination, without the need to cross roadways or walk to bus stops.
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From page 129... ...
INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS Infrastructure and environmental risk factors are those characteristics of the route along which school-age children travel to and from school and of the areas around the school location. These factors, which affect every travel mode, can be organized into four categories: roadway characteristics and traffic control devices, traffic characteristics, adjacent land use characteristics, and school zone safety and site location characteristics.
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From page 130... ...
presents a sampling of traffic engineering techniques that can be used to address these concerns, such as school speed zones, traffic control devices, routing and layout, flashing beacons, and crossing guards, particularly at elementary and middle schools. ITE also provides information on traffic calming techniques that are applicable to school areas.
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From page 131... ...
A loading and unloading site to eliminate the backing of transportation equipment; 7. Procedure for evaluating each school site plan annually." SOCIETAL RISK FACTORS Societal factors are not directly related to the transportation process, but have significant impacts on school travel.
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From page 132... ...
Public transit can, however, accommodate school children through regular transit service, including routes designed primarily for school travel (i.e., "tripper service") , as long as that service is open to the general public as well.
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From page 133... ...
road map of the types of actions that could be considered to reduce the risks associated with each school travel mode. Many states and school districts may already have addressed most of the items on these checklists.
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From page 134... ...
21. Are traffic control devices properly installed and maintained?
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From page 135... ...
The committee did not specifically address the issue of lap belts on school buses, given the previous TRB report (TRB 1989) and recent National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
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From page 136... ...
It is also important for students to receive training on proper school travel behavior and safety, as discussed earlier, but once again, no evaluation studies could be found that indicated how often this training should be given for best retention or how the training should be carried out. In the general roadway environment, it has been shown that heterogeneous traffic results in increased traffic fatalities (Fazio et al.
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From page 137... ...
However, a number of risk factors could be addressed to help decrease the risk associated with this mode. For example, it has been estimated that the adoption and enforcement of primary safety belt use laws in all states could reduce the risk of nonfatal injuries by 2 percent and fatalities by 9 percent for individuals in passenger vehicles (Dinh-Zarr et al.
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From page 138... ...
10. Are traffic control devices properly installed and maintained?
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From page 139... ...
In addition, once on campus, bicycles should be walked. SUMMARY In assessing the comparative safety of the various school travel modes, their relative risks, and measures that can be taken to enhance their safety, one must consider a broad range of factors, as set forth in this chapter.
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From page 140... ...
As NTSB has pointed out with respect to the comparative safety of school bus and motorcoach vehicles, a vehicle's safety is largely reflective of the type of service for which it is designed and in which it is operated. Finally, it must be reiterated that while data presented in this report and elsewhere provide valuable insights regarding the safety of the various school travel modes and often the vehicles they deploy, such data are likely to be misleading if used to make policy changes at the local level without considering the factors that affect the safety of school travel for that community.
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From page 141... ...
2001. National Strategies for Advancing Child Pedestrian Safety.
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From page 142... ...
2001. Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices: Millennium Edition (with incor porated Errata No.
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From page 143... ...
1999. Traffic Safety Facts 1998: Pedestrians.
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From page 144... ...
2001. Graduated Driver Licens ing in Michigan: Early Impact on Motor Vehicle Crashes Among 16-Year-Olds.
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