Truck Talk: Back-to-School Safety

Every August and September, the number of children walking to bus stops, crossing streets near schools, and riding bicycles increases sharply across Kentucky. Large trucks and commercial vehicles share those same roads, and the combination creates real danger. The numbers from federal agencies are clear: school-transportation crashes claim more lives than most people realize, and many of those deaths involve vehicles other than the school bus itself.

The Real Danger Around School Buses Is Outside the Bus

School buses are statistically safe. NHTSA data shows students are nearly eight times safer riding a school bus than traveling with a parent in a passenger car. But that statistic masks where children actually get hurt: outside the bus. From 2014 to 2023, about 71% of the deaths in school bus-related crashes were occupants of other vehicles, and 16% were pedestrians, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Traffic Safety Marketing division.

That means the child who steps off the bus and crosses the street, or the student walking on the shoulder to reach the stop, faces the greatest risk. In 2023, school bus-related crashes killed 128 people nationwide, up 23% from 2022, according to National Safety Council tabulations of NHTSA data.

Why Trucks and School Zones Are a Dangerous Mix

Commercial trucks present specific hazards in school zones and along bus routes:

• Trucks need significantly more stopping distance than passenger vehicles. At 55 mph on dry pavement, a fully loaded semi can take the length of nearly two football fields to stop.
• Truck blind spots extend up to 20 feet in front of the cab and 200 feet behind the trailer. A child crossing in front of a slow-moving delivery truck can disappear entirely from the driver’s view.
• Trucks that pass a stopped school bus with its red lights activated are committing a moving violation in every state. In Kentucky, KRS 189.370 requires all drivers to stop for a school bus with its stop arm extended, and commercial drivers face additional federal accountability.

Attorney Jon Hollan has noted that delivery trucks on tight schedules near school zones create a compound problem: drivers under time pressure in areas where children are unpredictable and often small enough to be hidden by vehicle blind spots.

Kentucky Interstates and Delivery Routes Near Schools

Kentucky’s major interstates, including I-64, I-65, and I-75, funnel commercial trucks through and around population centers where schools cluster. Louisville school districts sit directly near interstate on-ramps and off-ramps where large trucks move constantly. Lexington’s school zones along New Circle Road and nearby surface streets intersect with delivery routes for distribution centers near I-75.

Under 49 CFR Part 392, commercial motor vehicle drivers must operate with due regard for the safety of all persons on the highway, which courts have interpreted to include heightened care in school zones and near bus stops.

What to Document If a Truck Is Involved in a School Zone Crash

If a commercial vehicle strikes a child or causes a crash near a school, the following records matter immediately:

• The truck’s Electronic Logging Device (ELD) data, which records speed and location in real time
• Dashcam footage from the truck and any nearby school or traffic cameras
• The driver’s duty status at the time of the crash, to identify fatigue or distraction
• Whether the carrier’s route planning required passing through a school zone during drop-off or pickup hours

Kentucky State Police crash reports for school-zone incidents are public records and provide a starting point for any investigation. The truck accident practice area on this site covers how commercial crash investigations differ from standard car accident claims.

Federal Rules That Apply to Commercial Drivers Near School Buses

NHTSA urges all drivers, including commercial operators, to follow posted school zone speed limits, yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, and never pass a school bus with its stop arm extended. For CDL holders, a conviction for passing a stopped school bus results in mandatory CDL disqualification under 49 CFR Part 383. That disqualification record is admissible evidence in a civil case arising from such a crash.

How Truck Drivers Can Reduce Risk Near Schools

Commercial drivers traveling routes near schools and school bus stops have a heightened duty under 49 CFR Part 392 to adjust their speed and following distance for conditions. In practical terms, this means:

• Reducing speed through school zones and adhering to posted limits, which are typically 15 to 25 mph during school hours
• Increasing following distance beyond the standard FMCSA recommendation of one second per 10 feet of truck length, because children can step into the road with little warning
• Planning delivery routes to avoid school zones during the 30 minutes before and after school starts and ends when pedestrian activity peaks
• Never attempting to pass a school bus displaying its stop arm and flashing red lights, regardless of the driver’s schedule pressure

Carrier scheduling practices that require drivers to pass through school zones during peak pedestrian hours create a foreseeable risk. When a carrier’s own route documentation shows the driver was assigned to a school-zone corridor during drop-off or pickup time, that documentation is direct evidence of institutional negligence if a crash results. The Truck Talk episode on crash responsibility covers how carrier scheduling decisions factor into overall liability.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Truck Talk Episodes