80 years later, it looks almost the same. Some buses dont even have seat belts. Meanwhile, cars have undergone massive redesigns in the same time period.
How can a vehicle designed to transport kids seem so out of date?
In the US, school buses transport 26M kids every day. Before buses, kids rode to school on horse-drawn 'school wagons'; by the 1930s, roads had expa, need, and more types of automobiles were available, which meant school buses were more common.
Early school buses were a hodgepodge of different styles and different types of vehicles, not great for safety or cost-effectiveness. There were no universal standards for all buses to follow.
In 1939 all started to change. Frank Cyr was a professor of rural education at Columbia University. He recognized the role school buses played in rural education, finding that from 1926 to 1938 number of school buses increased 132%
He led a group and came up with the minimum standards for the school buses. A set of 44 rules all buses should adhere to. This included details like length, aisle width, and even the iconic yellow color. They chose yellow because it is visible easily on the road and black lettering is visible even in the dim light. A lot of what you see in the modern school bus was decided at that conference.
But it's been 80 years; something must have changed, right?
It might not look like it, but there have been many changes inside the bus, including roll-over protection, safer fuel systems, and taller seats.
Although few notable additions do stand out, like wheelchair accessibility, Emergency exit windows, and stop sign arms. So the changes have been incremental instead of a huge redesign, but that's actually not the problem because school buses are the safest way to get to the school.
From 2008 to 2017, 71 passengers were killed in school bus crashes out of 26M daily riders. In fact number of deaths each year is less than 1% of nationwide traffic deaths.
SO WHAT MAKES SCHOOL BUSES SO SAFE?
Well, you might have noticed school buses are big and heavy. They are about 7 times heavier than a car when filled with passengers. That means they can absorb the crash better, and passengers feel less force in a crash. They have a solid frame that helps prevent damage in a rollover. But it is not just their size; the color, flashing lights, and the stop signal help keep school buses safe. In fact, school buses are the most regulated vehicles on the road, and because they are all the same, they are easily recognized, and the nearby drivers know to be extra cautious.
A drastic design change like color could modernize the look, but it might not get the attention of drivers as quickly, and if you are wondering about the seat belts, they dont need them. Those unassuming seats are actually designed to absorb the energy of the crash and cushion the impact, but the smaller buses that are close to the size of the van do need seat belts. They use something called "crash protection through compartmentalization" to protect riders.
So the school bus you rode as a kid is most probably similar to the one your parents rode in, but changes might becoming. Who knows.
You must be logged in to post a comment.