El Paso County sees third-highest rate of crashes involving school buses over last five years

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Over the last five years, El Paso County has seen the third-highest rate of crashes involving school buses, Colorado State Patrol (CSP) says.

As back-to-school season starts, CSP says between 2021 to 2025, it investigated 267 crashes involving school buses. El Paso County was the location for 28 of those crashes, the third-most statewide.

Most of them were caused by other motorists, not the school bus driver, according to officials.

The top three factors of Colorado school-bus involved crashes included inattentive driving, lane violations and failure to yield, according to officials. CSP says last year, troopers investigated 13 crashes with school buses caused by distracted driving, nine more than in 2024.

CSP is reminding drivers of the driving rules around school buses, including:

• Stopping if a school bus is displaying alternating flashing red light signals
• Proceeding with caution if a school bus has yellow lights on
• Stopping at least 20 feet before a school bus with red flashing lights, and waiting until the lights are off and all children are off the roadway

CSP says data shows students are 70 times safer when they take a bus to school instead of driving a car, because of regulations and safety standards around the buses compared to passenger vehicles.

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