As we enter the fall season, we can expect to see more snow, more holiday traffic, and more pumpkin spice items on the shelves. We also see school buses back on the roads as students are settling into their new school year. Each day, 26 million children take 480,000 school buses to school across the United States. School buses, although considered by some to be a boring, routine part of everyday life in America, have a fun history. Let's learn some fun facts about school buses:
- The first “school bus” was seen in Paris in 1662! It was a carriage pulled by a horse, and the tradition lasted about 15 years before financial issues stopped the practice. The next time school carriages were seen was 1812. (Bonus fact: kids used to ride on the roof of the carriages!)
- The motorized school bus as we know it is only a little over 100 years old. First using steam engines in place of horses, the model was adapted to the likes of a car in the 1910s.
- In most states, seat belts still are not required on school buses. The lack of seat belts stems from the “compartmentalization” design, a.k.a. having students sit between close, stacked rows of seats.
As of August 2024, eight states require seat belts on school buses: Arkansas, California, Florida, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, and Texas. However, some of these states' laws are subject to approval or denial by local jurisdictions. For example, in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas, local jurisdictions can approve or deny the laws. Iowa also requires lap-shoulder belts on all new school buses starting in 2019.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, school buses are considered one of the safest vehicles on the road, with less than 1% of all traffic fatalities involving children on school transportation vehicles. However, the accident rate increases when students are boarding and disembarking from a school vehicle. School bus stops may also be found in surprising locations, for instance, along the rural portion of a major highway as it travels through a town containing very few major roads. Drivers, especially those driving large commercial vehicles, should take extra caution when driving through residential areas on days when children may be utilizing school transportation vehicles.
States all have specific laws regarding school bus safety. However, for a commercial driver traveling through numerous states along his route, it is most important - at a bare minimum - to be aware of the universal rules regarding travel when near a school bus. For instance: be on the lookout for yellow lights, indicating a bus is preparing to stop, as well as red flashing lights on an extendable arm, indicating children may be crossing the street to board the bus. In all states, it is illegal to pass a school bus while the stop-arm is extended and the red lights are flashing. In addition, drivers should be aware of the rules bus drivers must follow that may affect the flow of traffic, such as a requirement that a school bus stop at all railroad crossings, regardless of whether an arm is blocking the crossing, and regardless of whether there are passengers on the bus.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
