By Leonard Stone, Esq.
Last Updated: July 10, 2026
Buses are an essential part of Nevada’s transportation system. Residents, workers, students, older adults, tourists, and people with disabilities rely every day on public transit buses, school buses, hotel and casino shuttles, tour buses, paratransit vehicles, and private motorcoaches.
Although bus transportation is generally considered safe, a single negligent decision can expose dozens of people to injury at the same time. A bus driver who follows too closely, accelerates before a passenger is seated, makes an abrupt turn, fails to yield, drives while distracted, or operates an unsafe vehicle can cause serious and sometimes fatal injuries.
Bus Accidents Present a Growing Safety Concern in Nevada
Data maintained by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration demonstrate the scope of the problem. Between 2021 and 2024, Nevada recorded 204 crashes involving buses. Those crashes resulted in 271 reported injuries and 12 deaths.
The annual numbers increased sharply during that period. Nevada reported 23 bus-involved crashes and 22 injuries in 2021. By 2024, the state recorded 88 crashes and 142 injuries. The number of reported injuries in 2024 was therefore more than six times the number reported in 2021.
The figures are available through the FMCSA’s Nevada Bus Crash Statistics Summary for 2021–2025. The FMCSA also provides an interactive Crash Statistics Query Tool, which allows users to review large-truck and bus crashes by state, year, vehicle type, roadway condition, time of day, weather, and other factors.
These statistics measure people injured in crashes involving buses. They should not be interpreted as counting bus passengers alone. The victims may include bus passengers and drivers, occupants of other vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists, and people waiting near bus stops or roadways.
The FMCSA also cautions that its most recent crash information may remain preliminary while reports are submitted, corrected, or revised. Current information and reporting qualifications are available through the FMCSA’s Analysis and Information Online portal.
Why Bus Passengers Face Unique Injury Risks
Bus passengers face risks that differ from those encountered in ordinary passenger vehicles. Many transit passengers stand during the ride, walk toward an exit while the bus is moving, or sit in seats without conventional passenger-vehicle restraints.
A sudden stop, sharp turn, collision, or premature acceleration can throw a passenger against:
- The floor;
- A seat or seat frame;
- A window;
- A fare box;
- A handrail;
- A door; or
- Another passenger.
A passenger may suffer a serious injury even when the bus itself shows little or no visible damage. Older passengers and people with physical limitations may be especially susceptible to fractures, head injuries, spinal injuries, and aggravation of preexisting conditions.
Bus accidents also occur during boarding and unloading. A driver may:
- Pull away before a passenger is seated or safely positioned;
- Stop too far from the curb;
- Fail to lower the bus or deploy a ramp properly;
- Close a door on a passenger;
- Fail to provide reasonable assistance;
- Accelerate while a passenger is still stepping inside;
- Fail to secure a wheelchair or mobility device; or
- Discharge a passenger at an unsafe location.
These events can be particularly dangerous for older adults, children, wheelchair users, and passengers who require additional time or assistance.
Nevada Bus Companies May Owe Passengers a Heightened Duty of Care
Under Nevada law, entities that transport passengers may qualify as common carriers. Nevada courts have long recognized that a common carrier owes passengers a heightened duty concerning dangers associated with transportation.
In First Transit, Inc. v. Chernikoff, the Nevada Supreme Court explained that a common carrier must use the highest degree of care consistent with the mode of transportation and the practical operation of its business when protecting passengers from transportation-related risks.
The precise duty depends on the circumstances. The heightened standard does not automatically apply to every event that happens inside a bus. It is particularly important, however, when an injury results from the operation, movement, loading, unloading, condition, or transportation function of the vehicle.
Depending on the evidence, a bus operator may be responsible for:
- Unsafe driving;
- Distracted or fatigued driving;
- Failing to allow a passenger enough time to sit down;
- Abrupt acceleration or braking;
- Unsafe lane changes or turns;
- Inadequate assistance during boarding or unloading;
- Failure to secure mobility devices;
- Negligent driver hiring or retention;
- Inadequate training or supervision;
- Poor vehicle maintenance;
- Defective brakes, tires, doors, lifts, ramps, or restraints; or
- Violations of federal, state, or company safety requirements.
Nevada’s motor-carrier laws also regulate passenger carriers and address operational safety and liability insurance. Those provisions can be reviewed in Chapter 706 of the Nevada Revised Statutes.
Nevada Drivers Must Stop for School Buses
Nevada law provides special protection for children boarding and leaving school buses.
Under NRS 484B.353, a driver approaching a school bus must stop when the bus is displaying flashing red lights while receiving or discharging children. The driver may not proceed until the flashing red signals have been turned off.
The requirement generally applies to vehicles traveling in both directions. An exception applies when the highway is divided by a physical median or barrier. In that situation, traffic traveling on the opposite side of the divided roadway is not required to stop.
The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles’ traffic-safety guidance summarizes the rule:
- On an undivided road, traffic traveling in both directions must stop.
- On a divided highway with a median or physical barrier, traffic traveling in the opposite direction does not have to stop.
- Drivers must remain stopped until the bus’s flashing red lights are turned off.
Passing a school bus displaying flashing red signals is both illegal and extremely dangerous. A child may unexpectedly enter the roadway from in front of the bus or from an area where the child is hidden from approaching traffic.
Nevada’s demerit-point schedule assigns points for unlawfully passing a school bus with flashing signals. Current information is available through the Nevada DMV’s Demerit Point System.
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School Bus Drivers Have Important Safety Responsibilities
School bus drivers transport children who may not fully appreciate traffic dangers. Safe operation requires more than simply obeying the speed limit.
A reasonably careful school bus driver must remain attentive to children inside and outside the bus, use required warning lights and equipment, select reasonably safe loading areas, account for children who may enter the danger zone, and avoid moving until boarding or exiting students are safely positioned.
Potential safety failures may include:
- Moving before students are seated;
- Failing to activate warning lights or the stop arm;
- Failing to account for children crossing in front of the bus;
- Selecting an unsafe loading or unloading location;
- Failing to check mirrors and blind spots;
- Driving while distracted or fatigued;
- Inadequately supervising students when necessary for safe operation;
- Permitting overcrowding or unsafe movement inside the bus;
- Failing to report defective safety equipment; or
- Operating a bus with unsafe brakes, tires, lights, mirrors, doors, or emergency exits.
Nevada law contains specific requirements governing school-bus equipment, inspection, identification, and flashing-light systems. These requirements are addressed in NRS 386.840.
The Most Dangerous Part of the School Bus Trip May Be Outside the Bus
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration explains that children are especially vulnerable while waiting for the bus, boarding, exiting, or walking near the bus.
The area immediately surrounding a school bus is commonly called the “danger zone.” Children in that area may be difficult or impossible for the driver to see.
NHTSA’s School Bus Safety guidance recommends that children:
- Stay at least 10 feet away from the bus while waiting;
- Wait until the bus comes to a complete stop;
- Follow the bus driver’s directions;
- Use the handrail when boarding;
- Never walk behind the bus;
- Cross at least 10 feet in front of the bus;
- Make eye contact with the driver before crossing; and
- Immediately tell the driver if an item falls near or underneath the bus.
Children should never return underneath or alongside a bus to retrieve a dropped backpack, phone, toy, or other object. The driver may not be able to see them.
Additional information about safer bus stops and loading areas is available through NHTSA’s Planning Safer School Bus Stops and Routes program.
How Parents Can Reinforce School Bus Safety
Parents can reduce the risk of injury by reviewing bus-safety rules before the school year and periodically reminding children about them.
Children should be taught to:
- Arrive at the stop early enough that they do not need to run;
- Wait away from the curb and roadway;
- Avoid pushing or playing near traffic;
- Board one at a time;
- Use available handrails and restraints;
- Remain seated and face forward;
- Keep aisles and exits clear;
- Follow the driver’s instructions;
- Never distract the driver; and
- Move away from the bus promptly after exiting.
Parents should also model safe conduct when driving near school buses. Slowing down, allowing additional following distance, anticipating frequent stops, and obeying flashing signals demonstrate that school-bus rules protect real children—not merely traffic flow.
Public Transit, Paratransit, Shuttle, and Tour Bus Safety
School buses are only one part of Nevada’s bus-safety picture. Las Vegas and other Nevada communities rely heavily on public buses, resort shuttles, tour buses, charter buses, and paratransit vehicles.
Public-transit safety information is maintained through the Federal Transit Administration’s National Transit Database. The database collects agency, service, performance, and safety information submitted by public transportation providers.
Individual public transit systems may be researched through the FTA’s NTD Transit Agency Profiles.
Transit and shuttle operators should have enforceable procedures addressing:
- Driver qualifications and background checks;
- Hours of service and fatigue;
- Defensive-driving training;
- Passenger boarding and unloading;
- Wheelchair lifts, ramps, and securement systems;
- Pre-trip and post-trip inspections;
- Brake, tire, steering, and suspension maintenance;
- Emergency evacuation;
- Accident reporting;
- Video preservation;
- Driver cellphone use;
- Passenger complaints; and
- Procedures for older adults and passengers with disabilities.
A written policy is not enough. A transportation company must train its employees, supervise compliance, investigate violations, and take unsafe vehicles and drivers out of service when necessary.
Who May Be Responsible for a Nevada Bus Accident?
A bus-accident investigation may identify several responsible parties. Depending on the circumstances, they may include:
- The bus driver;
- The private bus or shuttle company;
- A school district;
- A public transit authority;
- A hotel, casino, resort, or tour operator;
- A company that hired or contracted with the carrier;
- A maintenance or repair contractor;
- The manufacturer of a defective vehicle or component;
- Another negligent motorist; or
- A governmental entity responsible for an unsafe roadway or traffic-control condition.
The legal relationship between the driver, carrier, property owner, contracting business, and public agency must be carefully examined. A company may not avoid responsibility merely because it labeled the driver or carrier an independent contractor. The actual degree of control, contractual safety obligations, statutory responsibilities, and conduct of the parties may be more important than the terminology used in a contract.
Evidence That Should Be Preserved After a Bus Accident
Important evidence may disappear quickly after a bus accident. Surveillance recordings can be overwritten, vehicles can be repaired, electronic information may be erased, and witnesses can become difficult to locate.
A prompt investigation may seek to preserve:
- Interior and exterior bus-camera recordings;
- Event Data Recorder information;
- GPS and telematics data;
- Driver logs and schedules;
- Dispatch communications;
- Cellphone records;
- Maintenance and inspection records;
- Driver qualification and training files;
- Passenger manifests;
- Incident reports;
- Prior complaints;
- Photographs of the bus and accident scene;
- Traffic-camera recordings;
- Hotel, casino, school, or business surveillance video;
- Police reports; and
- Witness statements.
A preservation letter should be sent as soon as reasonably possible to each person or organization that may possess relevant evidence.
Claims Involving Public Agencies Require Special Attention
Some Nevada buses are operated by school districts, transit agencies, cities, counties, or other governmental entities. Claims against public entities may be governed by requirements and limitations that do not apply to private companies.
NRS 41.031 through NRS 41.039 address Nevada claims involving the State and its political subdivisions. NRS 41.035 limits recoverable damages in certain tort actions against governmental defendants, subject to the statute’s current language and any applicable exceptions.
A claimant may also need to comply with governmental notice or claim procedures. Because these issues can affect both the available defendants and potential recovery, they should be investigated at the beginning of the case rather than after ordinary litigation deadlines approach.
What Compensation May Be Available?
A person injured through negligent bus operation may be entitled to seek compensation for legally recoverable damages, including:
- Past and future medical expenses;
- Lost wages;
- Loss of earning capacity;
- Physical pain and suffering;
- Emotional distress;
- Disability;
- Disfigurement;
- Loss of enjoyment of life;
- Property damage; and
- Other accident-related losses.
In fatal cases, qualifying heirs and the decedent’s estate may have claims under Nevada’s wrongful-death law, NRS 41.085.
The damages available in any particular case depend on the evidence, the identity of the defendants, applicable insurance coverage, governmental limitations, comparative negligence, causation, and the nature and duration of the injuries.
How an Attorney Investigates a Nevada Bus Accident
A meaningful bus-accident investigation requires more than obtaining a police report. An attorney may need to:
- Inspect the bus and accident location;
- Interview passengers and independent witnesses;
- Obtain camera recordings and electronic data;
- Review the driver’s qualifications and safety history;
- Examine training, dispatch, and supervision records;
- Evaluate maintenance and inspection documents;
- Identify contractual relationships;
- Determine whether federal motor-carrier rules apply;
- Review school-district or transit-agency policies;
- Consult accident-reconstruction or transportation-safety experts;
- Identify every potentially responsible party; and
- Document the injured person’s medical, financial, and personal losses.
Bus companies and insurers may begin investigating immediately. Injured passengers and families should have an equal opportunity to preserve evidence and determine what occurred.
Nevada’s Bus-Injury Numbers Demand Attention
Nevada’s rising crash and injury figures underscore the importance of careful driver selection, meaningful training, reasonable scheduling, vehicle maintenance, passenger-assistance procedures, and enforcement of basic safety rules.
Bus companies and public transportation agencies carry many people at once. When an organization fails to operate or maintain its vehicles safely, the consequences can extend far beyond a single driver or passenger.
Passengers should be able to rely on drivers who are properly trained, vehicles that are properly maintained, and transportation companies that treat safety as an enforceable responsibility rather than a slogan.
About the Author
Leonard Stone is a founding partner of Shook & Stone. He has practiced law in Nevada since 1995 and represents people injured in motor-vehicle, commercial-transportation, premises-liability, workers’ compensation, and other serious injury matters.
Shook & Stone offers free consultations to people injured in Nevada bus, shuttle, transit, and school-bus accidents. The firm represents clients on a contingency-fee basis, meaning attorney fees are not owed unless compensation is recovered.
This article provides general information concerning Nevada law and transportation safety. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.
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