Study: More Bus Injuries Than Widely Thought

Average of 17,000 children a year may need emergency care.

Children riding school buses suffer more injuries than previous public data have suggested, according to a report in the November issue of Pediatrics that examined a national database of emergency room visits.

The vast majority of the children injured—97 percent—are treated and released from the hospital on the same day. But the study suggests that the data sources may be underestimating the number of children injured on school buses because those sources focus only on more serious accidents, or on those that take place during transportation to and from school during the school year.

The study in the journal, published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, examined injuries that occur at any time, regardless of severity. However, the study did not examine accidents...