Introduction:
Today's motorcoach is one of America's safest means of travel. It's also one of the most comfortable and affordable ways to move any travel group, making it the transportation mode of choice for thousands of public and private, elementary, middle and high schools and hundreds of colleges and universities who travel millions of miles each year on after-school and extracurricular trips.

Safe student motorcoach travel, however, isn't automatic. Travel planners, school administrators, students, parents and everyone associated with "student activity" transportation must exercise a strong concern for "safety first," good judgment and some basic advance research before selecting a motorcoach company to perform the trip.

This guide, created by the United Motorcoach Association (UMA), North America's largest association of professional bus and motorcoach companies, is the result of a cooperative effort with UMA's highway safety partners in the federal and state governments, the law enforcement community and the professional motorcoach industry. It is designed to serve as a "Student Motorcoach Travel Best Practices Manual" to help those who plan, schedule and conduct student activity trips to make the right choices and to better understand each element of motorcoach travel.