We all know what a school bus looks like, but were they always that distinguishable yellow? What about variations around the world? Since many of our sellers work on school and other buses, we thought we’d share some interesting facts about the vehicles we see so often!
- It was in 1886 that a man named Wayne Works started to produce horse-drawn carriages called “school hacks”. In 1914, when the automotive industry began to boom, Works saw an opportunity and motorized his carriages, creating the first vehicle specifically for school transportation.
- Before the 1920’s, school buses had cloth curtains instead of glass windows! That’d be chilly in the winter.
- School buses are yellow because the colour is especially visible in the early morning and evening light, exactly when children are using the buses and when visibility is lower!
- School buses have no seat belts because they have what is known as “passive protection”. In the 1970’s, governments took a hard look at the design of the buses and decided that, in the best interests of children, it was better to remove the belts but reconfigure the overall design of the buses to make them safer. The seats themselves have high padded backs and seats, and are a specific distance apart. They are also designed to collapse at a certain rate in the event of a collision. The bus windows have also been taken into consideration, with a size that will allow for easier evacuation.
- The yellow school bus is a very North American tradition! Other countries use yellow buses as well, but there is a lot of variation due to differences in culture, laws and climate.
- Take a look at some international school buses below:
