3 Benefits of Documenting Near-Misses

Texas public school districts transport about 1.5 million students to their campuses each school day, and most trips occur without collisions or injuries. When they do happen, however, they command public attention and headlines. But what about incidents that are not as severe as a crash?

Documenting and investigating near misses to identify their root cause(s) offers three key benefits.

What is a Near-Miss?

Near misses are incidents that did not cause injuries, damage, or other losses, but could have if circumstances were different. They’re symptoms that show where your safety procedures could fail:

Examples:

1. A bus’s tail swing almost knocks down a fence.
2. A maintenance truck is nearly struck while crossing an intersection.
3. A driver abruptly stops to avoid rear-ending a vehicle.

Don’t Count on Luck

It’s easy to dismiss non-collision incidents because no one was hurt and nothing was damaged. That doesn’t mean nothing bad happened. You have to investigate the near miss and identify the root cause(s):

1. If the tail swing happened because the driver didn’t know the route’s difficult turns, that’s bad.
2. If the maintenance driver didn’t see the intersecting traffic because the door windows weren’t clean, that’s bad.
3. If the driver had to brake hard because they didn’t allow appropriate following distance, that’s bad.

You cannot rely on luck to keep you clear of collisions. You also can’t assume that having only a few or even no auto claims every year means you have a safe transportation program.

Near Misses by the Numbers

Estimates vary on how many close calls there are compared to collisions, but a safe starting point is a ratio of 20 to 1. For perspective, the Fund handled over 3,000 auto liability and auto property damage claims in 2024.

That would mean the Fund’s 600-plus members with Auto coverage likely experienced over 60,000 narrow escapes that could have been tragic or costly.

Benefit 1. Prevent Incidents

Think of what your transportation team could learn if near misses were tracked. Consider:

• How do you know your drivers are following the law and your safety policies?
• Do your drivers receive sufficient training?
• Do your buses have unreported maintenance issues?
• Are you operating in a more hazardous environment than you assumed?
• What risks are evolving?

Imagine the progress you could make if you prevented losses instead of reacting to them: more reliable student transportation, more funds for education, and more community trust.

Benefit 2. Foster Safety Culture

Leadership relies on staff to be the eyes and ears of their organization. Encourage employees to report unsafe conditions and other concerns. When they do, follow up on those concerns and communicate your findings. When employees have a sense of ownership and pride in the safety program, a culture of safety takes root.

Benefit 3: Save Money

Schools often pay coverage deductibles before any claim-related repairs or vehicle replacements are made. Minor repairs, downtime, and related paperwork add to the hidden costs of collisions that don’t become claims. Collisions also impact your drivers’ records and points systems, and Texas schools already have a hard time finding CDL drivers for their routes.

Preventing a few collisions each year will easily pay for a system to track near misses. It does not have to be complicated, and chances are your organization already has the tools it needs.

1. Make it easy for your staff to report. You may already have routing software that can document this, but you don’t have to buy anything. Arlington ISD created a simple reporting system with Google Docs and QR codes, and TASB has a quick form you can adopt.
2. Emphasize prevention, not blame. Make it clear the goal is to prevent collisions, not assign blame. Otherwise, drivers are less likely to speak up.
3. Involve everyone and be accountable. Anyone who is authorized to drive an organization vehicle is at risk of a collision, so documenting and acting on near misses is in everyone’s best interest.

School transportation professionals need a complete picture of their operations. Near- misses are a critical part of the picture. A lot is riding on transportation teams getting it right every mile, every day.

Contact your Risk Solutions Consultant for help and more ideas!