In the Wednesday, Oct. 18, edition of the Butler Eagle, we learned about a crash that happened Tuesday at the intersection Vincent Road and Franklin Street in Slippery Rock borough.

Police said an 11-year-old girl was hit when crossing the street while walking to her school bus. She was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital, and from reports from the scene, it appears she will recover.

The crash happened on the second day of National School Bus Safety Week, and is a reminder of the importance of safety consciousness around buses.

School Bus Safety Week is an annual event designed to highlight ways that students, parents and drivers can ensure safety when students are getting on and off school buses.

And school bus safety is vitally important. Between 2012 and 2021 school bus crashes caused an average of more than 110 deaths annually nationwide. That number is brought down by the pandemic’s effect on schools in 2020, when fatalities were cut in half.

The injury picture is even more grim. Between 2009 and 2021, there were an average of nearly 13,000 injuries from school bus-related crashes each year.

And, according to a fact sheet from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, getting on and off a school bus is the most dangerous part of any trip.

One cause of the injuries is drivers passing a bus when its stop arm is extended.

In fact, between 2000 and 2021, there were 54 pedestrians killed when a driver illegally passed a school bus.

In a 2022 survey by the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, 79,859 school bus drivers reported that 51,593 vehicles passed their buses illegally on a single day during the 2020-21 school year.

“Throughout a 180-day school year, these sample results point to more than 41.8 million violations per year among America’s motoring public,” the NHTSA points out.

In all 50 states, it’s illegal to pass a school bus with its stop arm extended and the lights flashing. The reason is simple: So students can get to and from school safely.

This week, and every week, be alert for school buses and for students, and always stop for a bus with its arm extended and its lights flashing.

— JK