The next day there was more letting go to be had, this time at the school bus stop, which I have to say was a little scarier for both of us. For first timers like me, just seeing my child enter a huge vehicle on her own, to be let loose on these roads beset with lumbering trucks, speeding sport cars and road rage (ok I admit I’m overreacting, but this bus has to go on the freeway) was not a good start to my day. I mean, just how safe are these things?

After a little sleuthing, I found the answer: school buses are EXTREMELY SAFE!! and better for the environment too. Hurray!

Read this below and be a new school-bus-fan like me:

The school bus is the safest means of ground transportation, period,” said Sandy Syburg, president of Oconomowoc Transport, which is responsible for busing students in the Oconomowoc Area School District.

The company transports 3,500 students from both public and private schools in a district that covers 135 square miles.

Syburg, who also served as the past president the Wisconsin School Bus Association, said the latest national statistic showed it was 125 times safer to travel in a school bus than a passenger car.

Key factors for that record include that school buses are designed specifically to protect students. Special safety features not available on any other vehicle ensure the safest possible ride for children, according to the National Transportation Association.

Federal safety standards and the structural integrity of the vehicles are large components in that record.

Students riding in buses are also 80 percent above the impact zone in the case of a crash.

“If a car or a medium-size vehicle came in contact with the body of the bus, they are out of the danger area of that impact zone,” Syburg explained.

Nearly half the students in the country go to school by school bus and half go to school some other way, such as private vehicles, walking or biking, the national association reported.

Among the half that use the school bus, there are an average 20 fatalities per year; but among the half that travel some other way, there are 800 fatalities each year. In particular, teenagers are 44 times more likely to arrive at school alive if they take the bus than if they drive or ride with friends, it reported.

In addition, the school bus offers a more energy efficient means of transportation.

I don’t know about you, but I will definitely be sleeping better. To learn more, read the rest of the article here.