Hawaii Ranks Worst for School Bus Safety
from Grigor Law, 30th March 2026 (excerpted)
National school bus crash rates range from 70.9 to 747.9 incidents per 100,000 students, representing dramatic safety disparities across state lines.
Upper Midwest states consistently achieve superior safety performance through enhanced operational protocols and well-maintained infrastructure networks.
Infrastructure quality varies seventeen-fold nationally, with road conditions ranging from 2.62% to 44.75% rated unacceptable across different states.
Every morning, millions of children step onto a yellow school bus trusting they will get home safely. Most do, but not equally. With 57,000 crashes a year, some ride in states where systems protect them, while others face roads, policies, and oversight that fail them. This is not a chance. It is a choice.
The study by Grigor Law Injury & Car Accident Lawyers analyzed federal crash data from 2019 to 2023 and student transportation volumes from 2021 to 2024 across all 50 states. The study creates a 100-point School Bus Driving Risk Score combining crash frequency at 70% weight and road infrastructure quality at 30% weight.
Indiana achieves the safest environment by combining moderate crash rates with exceptional infrastructure quality at only 2.62% unacceptable roads. Upper Midwest states dominate safety rankings with four positions in the top ten, demonstrating consistent operational excellence across the region.
Looking at the study, Chrissy Grigoropoulos, founder of Grigor Law Injury & Car Accident Lawyers, commented:
"The more than ten-fold crash rate difference across states reflects deliberate policy choices about driver training, road maintenance, and operational oversight. When children's safety varies dramatically by geography, states must prioritize infrastructure investment and enhanced safety protocols to protect our most vulnerable commuters."
Hawaii transports 26,511 students daily and records the fourth-highest crash frequencies per student population. With 134 average annual school bus crashes, Hawaii rates 505.5 crashes per 100,000 students.
Florida records the nation's highest crash rate at 747.9 per 100,000 students, representing systematic operational failures compared to safer states. New York achieves the lowest rate at 70.9 despite operating the largest system with 2,087,748 daily riders, proving scale does not determine safety outcomes.
Hawaii is the state with the second-highest percentage of deteriorating road infrastructure at 39.09%. This combines with Hawaii’s high accident rate to give Hawaii the highest combined risk score nationally.
Methodology
This analysis examined federal crash data from 2019 to 2023 and student transportation volumes from 2021 to 2024 to calculate standardized crash rates per 100,000 students transported daily. The School Bus Driving Risk Score ranges from 0 to 100, combining crash frequency at 70% weight and road infrastructure quality at 30% weight, where lower scores indicate safer conditions. Rankings reflect overall safety performance, with Rank 1 representing the safest state and Rank 50 the most dangerous environment.
Data Sources
Crash Data: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration FARS
https://cdan.dot.gov/query
Road Conditions: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
https://www.bts.gov/road-condition
Student Transportation: School Bus Fleet Magazine
https://www.schoolbusfleet.com/download?id=10233821
Population Data: U.S. Census Bureau
https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest.html
Research Dataset:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1X53XsHSVYdBC2p78X44HwVu60gwyFxGfJ4qILFGIkRY/edit?usp=sharing
Study by:
https://grigorlaw.com/
About Grigor Law Injury & Car Accident Lawyers
Grigor Law Injury & Car Accident Lawyers serves as New York's premier all-injury law firm, representing clients in motor vehicle accidents and personal injury cases. The firm conducts data-driven research into traffic safety and infrastructure conditions to inform public policy discussions and promote enhanced safety standards.
Source: Busines NewsWire