Safety Facts

School Bus

DID YOU KNOW the traditional yellow school bus is one of the safest forms of transportation in the United States?

Here are some fun and interesting facts about school buses:

  • WHY YELLOW? In 1939, it was determined that yellow is the most noticeable color in peripheral vision. The brain processes yellow 1.24 times faster than red. The official shade is called "National School Bus Glossy Yellow."
  • SAFETY FIRST! School buses are statistically 70 times safer than riding in a car, making them the safest form of transportation for school children.
  • NO SEATBELTS? Instead of seatbelts, buses use "compartmentalization," a safety design featuring high, padded seats, acting like an egg carton to protect passengers. (This is why it is SO important for children to remain seated, facing forward during transport.)
  • LESS TRAFFIC. Each full school bus-holding roughly 72 passengers-removes 36-45 cars from the road. With 140 days of school and 3 regular bus routes running 2 times per day, that's almost 34,000 less cars on the road during the 2025-'26 school year!
  • LIGHTS, SIGNS & STOP-ARMS REQUIRED! Flashing red lights began to appear on school buses in the 1950's, and in 1974 the School Bus Safety Act formalized many safety requirements still practiced today. By the late 1980's, amber warning lights became standard on all new buses and by the mid-1990s ALL of the United States required stop-arms and flashing lights to warn motorists to STOP for children loading or unloading.