As they watch their kids hop in the school bus every morning, many parents wonder if they should drive them instead. We assume our children are safer in the family’s sedan or SUV, but in reality they’re not. Yep, that’s right: Your kids are more likely to get into an accident in your own vehicle than if you let them take the bus!
In Canada, roughly a million children use the iconic yellow rides to get to school every day. School buses are designed in a way that increases child protection in the event of a collision, mainly because they make them sit well above the possible points of impact.
Also, with smaller, unbreakable windows, children can’t be ejected from the bus during a collision. As for the seats, which are wider, taller, and thicker than typical car seats, they act as partitions to shield your kids at the moment of impact.
Actually, the only times children are more at risk are when they get in or out of the bus. Other motorists, including parents who drive their kids to school, occasionally miss the special stop sign and/or drive too fast around the bus.
Busy traffic near schools also makes your children vulnerable. So, by limiting the number of cars in the vicinity and increasing the number of kids aboard school buses (whenever possible), all children would enjoy a safer commute from their house to the classroom.
Sources : mto.gov.on.ca, gnb.ca, saaq.gouv.qc.ca, caaquebec.com