A five-year-old girl was killed while riding on her bus when the school bus driver lost control, ran off the road and into a ditch, and hit a tree. Our thoughts go out to the families of all involved in this tragedy. More details can be found at:

http://www.schoolbusfleet.com/news/726597/1-student-killed-in-school-bus-crash-in-georgia

It is worth noting that this girl was sitting in the front right area of the bus. While technically there is no safest seat on any vehicle, the practice of “Middle Loading” should be looked at as a tool to protect our passengers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends in their curriculum titled

Loading and Unloading for School Bus Drivers – NHTSA

the following recommendations:

• “If the bus is not filled to capacity, have students sit in the middle of the bus.”
• “The National Transportation Safety Board recommends that “no passenger occupy seats in either the foremost or rearmost rows of passenger seats until all other seats have been occupied.” This practice will limit passenger exposure to rear- and front-end impacts.”

This practice is also detailed in New York State’s annual document titled “School Bus Safety is One Bus Stop At A Time (SBSIOBSAAT)

http://www.p12.nysed.gov/schoolbus/documents/2017SBSIOBSAAT.pdf

specific recommendations include:

• Use Middle Loading Whenever Possible
• In the morning, keep children out
  of the rear and front seats until
  all other seats are filled. In the
  afternoon, empty the rear and front
  seats first. Train children to fill
  the middle seats first. Children in
  rear and front seats may be more
  vulnerable to injury in certain types
  of severe collisions.
• Middle loading saves lives. It has
  been recommended by the National
  Transportation Safety Board and
  the State Education Department for
  many years.
• Middle loading is especially important on bus routes with high-speed truck traffic.
• Teach children why you don’t want them in the back or front seats if the bus isn’t full.