According to the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA), American students are nearly eight times safer riding to and from school in a school bus as opposed to any other mode of transportation.
Students in mini vans face a greater risk to their safety; these vehicles are not legally held to the same occupant-safety standards as are regular school buses.
Mini vans are associated with higher rollover potential than many other types of passenger vehicles.
These nine to 15-passenger vehicles are not legally classified as buses; therefore, their operators are not held to the same high standards as those that have obtained commercial driver's licenses.
In order to discourage the use of mini vans for student transportation, manufacturers and auto dealerships are forbidden by law from selling these vehicles to school districts.
