Memphis Automobile Accident Attorneys Talk about School Bus Accidents

By Thomas Greer | December 22, 2014

A recent tragedy in East Knoxville claimed the lives of two children and one adult. The children and the adult who were killed were doing something that many children do every week day – they were riding the school bus. This particular accident involved two school buses, and in addition to the three people who were killed, two other children and an adult were severely injured and approximately twenty other children received minor injuries.

The accident occurred in the afternoon, when one school bus made an unexpected left turn, crossed a median, and collided with the side of the other school bus. Since the accident is still under investigation, it is uncertain whether the weather played a role in causing the crash, as there had been some rain that day and the pavement may have been wet.

This tragic accident brings the issue of school bus safety to the forefront, especially the question of whether school buses should be equipped with seat belts. There were no seat belts in the school buses that were involved in the crash, because school buses in Tennessee are not currently required to have seat belts. Some states have recently required that seat belts be installed in school buses, but other states have not.

There is some debate over whether seat belts in school buses increase safety or whether they increase safety in some emergency situations while creating a danger in others. School buses are designed to be safe. Their large size disperses the impact of a collision over a large area, and the high-backed seats divide the space within the bus into smaller areas, reducing the amount of movement that each passenger experiences during a crash. There is a growing concern that the design of school buses does not provide enough protection to their passengers.

Proponents of seat belts in school buses say that in situations like the recent tragedy in East Knoxville, where a large vehicle like another school bus or a tractor trailer collides with a school bus, the compartmentalized design of a school bus is not enough to keep children safe. Seat belts would provide added protection in the event of a crash, preventing injuries and saving lives. Opponents of seat belts in school buses are concerned that if there is a fire, the bus driver may not be able to unbuckle all of the seatbelts in time to get all of the children safely out of the bus.

School buses often provide our children with safe transportation to and from school. Unfortunately, the recent tragic school bus crash in East Knoxville reminds us that school bus-related injuries and fatalities are possible. If you or your child has been injured or if your child was killed in a school bus accident, ask an experienced automobile accident attorney for help right away. The Memphis auto accident attorneys at Bailey & Greer, PLLC provide caring and compassionate assistance to school bus accident victims and their families. To learn more about how we could help you, please call us at 901-680-9777 to schedule a time to discuss your case with us. At Bailey & Greer, PLLC, we are small enough to care, big enough to fight, and experienced enough to win.

Posted in Auto Accidents, Blog