Like so many parents across the country, I put my daughter on a school bus when my she started kindergarten last month. I felt pretty good as the first day approached, having decided to put her on the bus for a host of reasons - social development, ease, just plain fun. But also like many parents, I found myself increasingly worried that I was making a mistake. I latch my child into a permanently installed 5-point restraint system every time we get into my car. Until she turned 6 a few weeks ago, I did so because I had to: it is the law here in California*. Now I do so because it seems insane not to: she’s still 45 pounds and turning 6 didn’t change anything about the way her little body might be thrown around a car if there were an impact. How could I possibly put my light-as-a-feather child on a school bus with no car seat, no booster, maybe no seatbelt?

Am I making a terrible mistake? Are school buses dangerous? As it turns out, the answer is a resounding “No."

Here are 3 reasons I decided to let my daughter ride the bus:

1) Buses are 7 times safer than passenger cars.

The data: According to the National Health and Transportation Safety Authority (NHTSA) in 2006, there were 450,000 public school buses that drove 4.3 billion miles transporting 23.5 million kids. That year, the total number of fatalities on school buses was 0 (though in an average year it is 6). By comparison, there were more than 42,000 people killed in non-bus traffic crashes. Now this comparison isn’t entirely fair because a lot more people drive in cars (and vans and small trucks) so there are bound to be more fatalities. When NHTSA compared apples to apples, they still determined that school buses are a lot safer than passenger cars—approximately seven times safer.

2) Buses have a unique "compartmentalization: design protecting riders from crash forces.

The data: Not everyone agrees, but many experts site this compartmentalization design - you know, the way bus seats are so crammed together so that you can barely keep your knees off the seat back in front of you—is actually a safety device. This passive restraint system creates a “compartment”, protecting the rider from crash forces. And because of their size, large school buses distribute crash forces differently than passenger cars, so when a bus is in a head-on collision, the crash force is less intense than it would be if a car were in the same collision.

*Now all school buses are not created equal. The smaller buses (weighing 10,000 pounds or less) are more similar to cars than to big buses. For this reason, crash forces are not as disseminated and seat belts are considered a must-have. And all crashes aren’t considered equal either. The NHTSA has focused on front-impact crashes. There is very little safety information when it comes to side-impact or rollover crashes. I understand how compartmentalization might be protective when a bus hits another vehicle head-on, but if the bus is hit from the side or if the bus topples, compartmentalization would seem to have limited—maybe no—utility. In fact, vocal critics are especially outraged that compartmentalization has become a stand-alone safety concept because one of the initial studies that motivated today’s laws clearly suggested that it be used in conjunction with lap belts.

3) Statistically, it is safer for my child to take the bus than to use any other mode of transportation to school.

Undeniably, there is some inconsistency in the above "compartmentalization" argument, but this doesn't doesn’t mean danger. Statistically, it is in fact safer for a child to ride a bus than to drive in a car to school. It’s safer to ride the bus than to walk, ride a bike, or even to cross in front of the bus after the ride is over. Statistically, fewer kids get hurt while riding the school bus than using any of these other forms of transportation.

That said, I think there should be seat belts on school buses… but now I have just opened up a whole new (and also age-old) debate over entrapment and whether buckled-in kids are able to free themselves from a burning or sinking bus. *The actual law is that children under 6 years of age OR under 60 pounds must be in a child restrain system, which means a 5-point restraint car seat or a booster. I use a permanently installed car seat because data shows that most of the time when car seats are uninstalled and reinstalled, they are put in improperly; boosters on the other hand can be taken in and out of the car with ease. 

Dr. Cara Natterson is a respected pediatrician, a mother of two, and the author of the recently published "Dangerous or Safe? Which Foods, Medicines and Chemicals Really Put Your Kids At Risk" (Oct 2009) and "Your Newborn: Head to Toe" and "Your Toddler: Head to Toe" - comprehensive medical resource guides for parents.