For the third time in a little over five years, an Archbold school bus has been involved in a crash.
The crashes all have remarkable similarity: a school bus, stopped on a highway, is struck from the rear. The good part: no children were seriously injured. The bad part: sometimes, people are injured.
The latest crash occurred before 7 am, Friday, March 26, on St. Rt. 66 south of Archbold. No students were on board.
The crash was one day shy of the two-year anniversary of the 2019 crash in which a semi clipped the left rear of a bus stopped on US 6. Two students were on that bus and two had just gotten off; none were injured.
On Sept. 14, 2015, a bus with 20 student passengers was struck from behind while stopped on US20A. Two were taken to Fulton County Health Center to be checked; both were okay.
So what are we to make of this? It would be easy to conclude buses are not safe, but considering all the miles buses travel, day after day, year after year, the big yellow vehicles have a remarkable safety record.
But even one bus crash is too many. Motorists need to remember buses are out there, and they may stop at any time– including on highways! Drive defensively, and be prepared.