Accidents involving students are rare but they can change their lives and those of their families says Boca car accident lawyer Joe Osborne.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year if you’re a parent. The kids are finally out of the house and going to school. They will be getting there on foot, in a school bus or driving them there will become part of your morning routine again. No matter how they get there, they need to get to school and come home safely says Boca car accident lawyer Joe Osborne.

School bus accidents are rare, according to USA Today, but they happen. It’s estimated that from 2004 to 2013 there were a total of 340,039 fatal vehicle accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Of those accidents 1,214, involved school transportation vehicles bringing students to or from school or some school related activity.

NHTSA states about 134 people are killed in school vehicle related accidents annually. About 8% are riding in the vehicles and pedestrians, bicyclists and others outside them count for about 21% of fatalities. Most of those killed are in other vehicles. NHTSA estimates that students are about 70 times more likely to get to school safely riding in a school bus than in a passenger vehicle.

Like anyone else travelling on Florida’s roads students can be injured or killed by negligent drivers,

1. In Miami earlier this month several children were taken to a hospital after their school van rolled over after a collision, reports CBS Miami. They were coming home after their first day of school at Terra Environmental Research Institute, a school in Kendall. Police report the van was heading eastbound on 182nd Street when it was struck by a car going southbound on SW 105th Avenue. Six students and the car’s driver went to the hospital.
2. An accident involving a Sarasota County school bus and two other vehicles injured 16 people with eleven of them going to the hospital, according to WTSP. The bus carried a dozen students, an aide and the driver. Another vehicle tried to take a left turn and went into the path of the bus, hitting the front right side of the bus, pushing it into a traffic signal pole. The students were from a school for those with special needs. Of the eleven sent to the hospital, seven were students and four were adults. The driver of the car was cited by the Florida Highway Patrol for failing to yield the right of way according to WWSB.
3. A 12 year old boy was struck by a car while he was walking to school in Jacksonville in March, reports Action News Jax. He later died at a local hospital. Hunter Cope was one of three students crossing an intersection. The police report states Cope was in the crosswalk when the car went through the intersection on a yellow light. Police report they believe the driver was under the influence of alcohol at the time. News4Jax reports the driver had ten citations on her driving record including five for speeding.

As important as it is to learn in school, it’s more important that children get to and from school safely. If your child has been injured in a car accident or as a pedestrian going to or coming home from school, contact Boca car accident lawyer Joe Osborne at (561) 293-2600 or fill out this online contact form. You can discuss your case, how the law may apply and your best legal options to protect your rights and obtain compensation for your injuries.