In the past few days, there have been five crashes hurt at least a dozen children while they waited at the bus stop.
They happened in Indiana, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Florida.
Seven people were rushed to the hospital after a car struck kids in Tampa Thursday morning.
According to data collected by the Kansas State Department of Education, 8 kids were killed waiting at the bus stop last school year.
In the 2016-2017 report, 75% of the deadly crashes were caused by a driver hitting a child at the bus stop.
The rest were struck by their own bus. The students killed were between the ages of 6 and 16 years old. Most of the crashes happened during the day.
Between 2006 and 2015, more than 100 students were killed in school transportation-related crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
64% were hit by a bus and 36% were hit another car.
Here is a list of safety tips for kids:
- When it’s dark outside like this, kids should wear bright colors or something reflective to help stand out more.
- They need to stand far away from the road, at least three feet.
- While they wait for the bus, they need to be aware of their surroundings.
- Kids also need to look both ways before crossing the street.
As for drivers, when a bus stop is in a double lane, cars in both directions must stop. It's the law. The same goes for multi-lane roads. Drivers must remain stopped until all children are off the road and the bus starts moving again.
However, if it's on a divided highway where there's a barrier, cars coming in the opposite direction do not have to stop.
Yet, law enforcement says drivers should always be extra cautious when kids are getting picked up or dropped off at the bus stop.
