Bus drivers most at risk

Buses are safe for passengers, but not necessarily for the person behind the wheel. A TØI report shows that it is often the bus driver who is killed or seriously injured when the bus is hit in the front.

The report from the Norwegian Institute of Transport Economics, TØI, confirms what bus drivers have known for a long time: When a bus is involved in a serious frontal accident, it is often the driver who is hit hardest. Buses are among the safest forms of transport for passengers, but the person sitting in the front is still poorly protected.

TØI shows that approximately two out of three bus drivers killed or seriously injured in Europe were involved in accidents with the impact point being in the front of the bus. The researchers estimate that this corresponds to around 96 bus drivers killed or seriously injured per year who could have survived or suffered less serious injuries with better crash protection.

In Norway, several drivers have also lost their lives in serious bus accidents, including in collisions at relatively low speeds.

Yrkestrafikkforbundet believes the findings show that bus drivers' safety is still not well enough maintained.

– This is not a new problem. It is a problem that has still not been solved. Every day, bus drivers go to work in vehicles where the front still does not provide sufficient protection if an accident occurs. When the bus is hit in the front, it is all too often the driver who pays the highest price, says union leader Trude Sande in Yrkestrafikkforbundet .

The report is based on analyses of bus accidents in 32 European countries, multivariate analyses of accident data and in-depth studies of fatal bus accidents in Norway.

TØI points out that bus drivers are poorly protected against serious injuries in accidents with a frontal impact. In analyses of fatal bus accidents in Norway, the most common injury mechanisms for bus drivers who were killed or seriously injured are low crash safety, insufficient structural safety and critical collision points.

The in-depth studies describe a common problem: Modern buses have the driver's seat at the very front, with limited space and without effective structures that can absorb and distribute the collision energy. In several of the accidents, the reports indicate that there was no real survival space for the driver. In all frontal collisions where insufficient structural safety contributed to the driver being killed or seriously injured, the collision point was at the left corner of the front of the bus.

– The bus driver is responsible for the safety of many people every single day. We cannot be satisfied that the driver is still sitting so exposed in the most vulnerable area of ​​the bus. It is good that the topic has received more attention, but current solutions are not sufficient, says Sande.

YTF has previously documented that there is great unrest among drivers. In the union's own safety survey, more than half responded that they do not believe that sufficient safety measures have been implemented against collisions. Among bus drivers, the proportion was even higher.

Yrkestrafikkforbundet emphasizes that it has been important to raise the topic, and that it is positive that action has been taken. At the same time, the association believes that the work must continue, because drivers are still too poorly protected when serious frontal accidents occur.

– We experience that there is a will to improve safety, and that is important. But it is going too slowly, and the current solution does not make the driver's seat safe enough. There is still a need for better deformation zones, stronger structures and a real survival space for the person sitting behind the wheel, says Sande.

YTF believes this is about something very basic: No one should risk their life because they go to work as a bus driver.

“The passengers must arrive safely. So must the driver,” says Sande.

About the report
TØI report 2111/2025, Bus accidents in Europe: Factors affecting injury severity and risk of injury , shows that bus drivers are particularly vulnerable in frontal collisions, and that better collision protection could reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries.