Bus Accident Statistics – 2023 Edition

Updated 12/27/2023

Based on our research, there are more than 15k bus accidents every year – roughly 47% of which involve an injury and 1.5% of which result in a fatality.

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To better understand bus accidents, our team researched where and why they happen, and how many people are injured or killed as a result.

Table of Contents

Bus Accident Statistics – All Buses

School Bus Accident Statistics

Sources

About the author

Kyle Fretwell has worked as a researcher and data-journalist for over a decade. His work has appeared in publications such as Bloomberg, Fox Business, MSN, USA Today, CNBC, and the Houston Chronicle.

He now manages TruckInfo.net's content team and is a regular fixture at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville.

Bus Accident Statistics – All Bus Types

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) defines a bus as any motor vehicle designed to transport nine or more people, including the driver. As a result, the following statistics include school buses, cross country buses, transit buses, van-based buses, and "other types of buses" as defined by the FMCSA.

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Total Bus Accidents

How many bus accidents are there per year?

There were 15,033 bus accidents in 2022. 219 of these accidents were fatal for one or more persons involved.¹

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Bus Accidents by State

New York had the most bus accidents in 2022. Florida, Texas, California, and Illinois rounded out the top five.¹

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Bus Accidents with Injuries

How many people are injured in bus accidents every year?

13,268 individuals were injured in a bus accident in 2022.¹

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What percentage of bus accidents result in an injury?

Approximately 47% of bus accidents resulted in an injury in 2022. Out of the 15,033 accidents, 7,119 resulted in an injury.¹

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Note: The number of bus accidents resulting in an injury is lower than the number of individuals injured during a bus accident because multiple individuals can be injured in a single accident.

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Bus Accidents with Injuries by State

New York had the most bus accidents with injuries followed by Florida, Texas, California, and Illinois.¹

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Fatal Bus Accidents

How many people are killed in bus accidents every year?

248 people were killed in bus accidents in 2022.¹

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Roughly 16% of these fatalities were from occupants in buses involved in the accident.¹

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What percentage of bus accidents result in a fatality?

In 2022, 1.5% of bus accidents resulted in a fatality.¹

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Fatal Bus Accidents by State

Texas and Florida had the most fatal bus accidents in 2022 followed by New York, California, and North Carolina.¹

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Fatal Accidents by Bus Type

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Summary Bus Accident Data by State

State	Total Accidents	Fatal Accidents	Injury Accidents	Fatalities
Alabama	153	0	68	0
Alaska	3	1	0	2
Arizona	181	6	20	6
Arkansas	101	3	42	7
California	857	14	417	15
Colorado	167	7	31	7
Connecticut	246	4	92	4
Delaware	74	1	45	1
Dist. Of Columbia	114	1	85	2
Florida	1,242	20	596	20
Georgia	479	5	200	6
Hawaii	65	1	44	1
Idaho	46	2	18	2
Illinois	731	9	374	10
Indiana	332	8	102	8
Iowa	98	2	34	3
Kansas	96	0	14	0
Kentucky	227	2	114	2
Louisiana	290	6	170	6
Maine	66	2	28	2
Maryland	577	3	293	4
Massachusetts	357	3	149	3
Michigan	478	2	160	2
Minnesota	301	3	90	3
Mississippi	97	0	47	0
Missouri	421	5	218	5
Montana	27	2	9	2
Nebraska	28	2	12	2
Nevada	22	2	15	2
New Hampshire	30	0	4	0
New Jersey	667	7	336	7
New Mexico	4	0	2	0
New York	1,463	16	1118	16
North Carolina	682	11	336	12
North Dakota	31	2	7	2
Ohio	707	10	295	14
Oklahoma	80	1	28	1
Oregon	113	0	33	0
Pennsylvania	726	8	360	8
Rhode Island	25	0	17	0
South Carolina	171	4	94	6
South Dakota	32	0	3	0
Tennessee	229	5	91	5
Texas	1,149	20	528	28
Utah	29	2	15	3
Vermont	6	0	2	0
Virginia	437	6	163	8
Washington	218	8	58	8
West Virginia	93	1	47	1
Wisconsin	251	1	91	1
Wyoming	14	1	4	1

School Bus Accident Statistics

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Fatal School Bus Accidents

How many fatal school bus accidents are there per year?

In 2021, there were 101 fatal bus accidents in the Unite States, which resulted in 108 fatalities.²

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Only 4.6% of fatalities were school bus passengers. Rather, 68.5% of fatalities were occupants in other vehicles and 19.4% were pedestrians. The remaining fatalities were bikers (1.9%) and the school bus driver (5.6%).²

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Where do fatal school bus accidents occur?

From 2012 to 2021, 23% of fatal accidents occurred at an intersection.²

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Fatal School Bus Accidents by State

In 2021, Florida had the most fatal school bus accidents followed by New York and Texas.²

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Sources

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^1.^{Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration}

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‍^2.^{National Highway Traffic Safety Administration}