Ohio school bus crashes declined steadily

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Crashes involving Ohio school buses have declined steadily in recent years, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Fatalities are rare and the accidents mostly involve another vehicle rear-ending a bus, troopers said. Some other accidents involve school buses sliding off icy roads or two buses colliding in a parking lot, patrol Sgt. Aaron Gentry told the Dayton Daily News.

Patrol records show that crashes involving school buses declined from 1,671 in 2006 to 1,579 last year. There were 77 fewer crashes in Ohio last year than in 2009, the newspaper reported.

The patrol said in a release today that it has 23 teams of motor vehicle inspectors who inspect all Ohio school buses at least twice each year — including once before the school year begins — to make sure they are safe. Bus drivers also undergo safety training.

Law enforcement officials’ biggest concern is other drivers’ passing stopped school buses that are loading or unloading children, Sgt. John Lumpcik of the patrol’s Xenia post told the newspaper.