School bus accident at Jettingen: Standing rooms endanger school children!

School bus accident at Jettingen: Standing rooms endanger school children!

Jettingen-Scheppach, Deutschland - On June 6, 2025, a serious accident near Jettingen-Scheppach occurred, in which a fully occupied school bus was involved in a collision with a car. The 22-year-old driver of a car wanted to overtake a tractor-trailer at around 7:50 a.m., but overlooked the oncoming articular bus, in which 94 students were sitting. The impact was violent: eleven school children between the ages of 11 and 15 suffered slight to moderate injuries, as did the motor driver himself, while another car driver who drove behind the bus drove lighter injuries. The entire property damage is estimated at around 150,000 euros.

The fire brigade's forces were on site with around 40 people and several rescue teams took care of the injured. The affected district road remained completely closed until around 11 a.m. The students who could not get out of the bus were later brought to their schools with replacement buses. The person who caused the accident is now accused of negligent bodily harm in road traffic and the investigation into the exact circumstances of the incident.

overcrowding of school buses: a chronic problem

A central problem that is brought back into the light by this incident is the overcrowding of school buses in Bavaria. Especially at peak times, the buses are often fully occupied with students, while many have to drive in standing room. Henrike Paede from the Bavarian Parents' Association warned that not all children get a seat. Monika Steffen, representative of the Bavarian Omnibus company (LBO), sees an increase in bus capacities as unrealistic, as this would require more vehicle reserves and additional drivers. According to LBO, public transport could even be in danger without standing room.

Over 1.3 million students use bus or train every day. School buses are relatively certain: only about 7% of school accidents concern this public transport. However, the shares of the other participants are comprehensive: almost 45% of school accidents concern cyclists, 12% "parent taxis" and 10% pedestrians, as the data of the German statutory accident insurance show.

A look at the numbers

The student accident statistics are alarming. The most common road traffic accidents in student accident insurance are bicycle accidents, followed by accidents with cars and on foot. In these events, the school bus is represented in the overall balance with only 7.05%, which shows that it is relatively secure than other types of traffic.

• bicycle (private means of transport): 23.075 (45.54%)
• car: 5,996 (11.84%)
• on foot: 4,930 (9.73%)
• motorized two -wheeler: 3,315 (6.54%)
• Other/K.A.: 4.758 (9.39%)
• school bus (public transport): 3,572 (7.05%)

For the families concerned, it is now important to process what has happened. School education and the safety of the children are in the top priority - that should be the apprenticeship from this incident.

For detailed information on the accident and for security in school transport, we refer to the reporting of href = "https://www.dguv.de/de/fahngen-fakten/schuelerunfall-heiten/strassenverkehr/index.jsp"> German statutory accident insurance ; also the reporting on BR provides valuable insights.