School bus
A school bus is a bus that is used as part of school transport specifically for transporting students between their home and school.
While in some countries, e.g. B. the United States of America and Canada , school buses are available nationwide and are used by the majority of pupils, in Germany they mainly run in rural and sparsely populated regions. School buses may only be used by students from the school that the school bus drives to. Another form of organization is the integration of school buses into the generally accessible regular service.
School buses in the individual countries
Germany
In Germany, school buses usually drive from residential areas to school before the first two hours of school and back from school after the last two hours of school.
According to Paragraph 3 of the Road Traffic Regulations, Paragraph 3, a maximum speed of 50 km / h applies for buses within built-up areas and a maximum speed of 80 km / h outside of built-up areas, or 100 km / h with a special permit. If there are more passengers than seats in the bus, only 60 km / h may be driven. There is no special speed regulation for school buses. Contrary to popular belief, the above-cited provision of Section 3 (3) StVO applies exclusively in the state of Brandenburg. Since this regulation is federal law, no state is authorized to change this legal regulation. A change in the road traffic regulations to the effect that school buses outside of town are only allowed to drive 60 km / h even with only seated children (Section 3 Paragraph 3 No. 2 Letter b StVO) could only be made by the Federal Ministry of Transport with the consent of the Federal Council. The trip with the school bus is usually chargeable, although the costs can be borne by the school authorities from a certain distance. The school buses are organized by independent municipalities or the district.
In Germany city buses or intercity buses are mainly used as school buses; some of these run on regular scheduled services outside of school hours. Schoolchildren are also transported with minibuses (5–8 passengers) or taxis .
School buses and vehicles that are specially used for school transport in Germany must be identified in Germany in accordance with Section 33 BOKraft on the front and back with a sign in accordance with Appendix 4 BOKraft; Marking in the target sign box with the symbol according to Annex 4 and an additional sign in the color of the background with the inscription "School bus" is sufficient. The effect of the sign must not be impaired by other inscriptions or symbols.
Paragraph 20 of the StVO generally stipulates that vehicle drivers must only drive carefully past buses on regular routes, trams and marked school buses that stop at stops, including those in oncoming traffic.
When a bus or school bus stops at a bus stop, the driver must switch on the hazard warning lights if this has been ordered by the road traffic authority for the respective bus stop. If the hazard warning lights of a bus are switched on, § 20 StVO prescribes stricter precautionary rules for other vehicle drivers. Buses or marked school buses that are approaching a bus stop and have the hazard warning lights switched on may not be overtaken. Buses or marked school buses, which then stop at bus stops and still have the hazard warning lights switched on, may only be driven past at walking pace and only at such a distance that there is no danger to passengers and passers-by. The walking speed also applies to oncoming traffic on the same lane, but not if z. B. median strips or guard rails separate the lanes of the road. The passengers must also not be hindered. If necessary, the driver has to wait. Regular buses and school buses must be allowed to depart from marked stops. If necessary, other vehicles have to wait.
There is a risk of fines and points in the register of fitness to drive in Flensburg if you violate these precautionary rules.
Even outside of marked bus stops, drivers should expect school children to suddenly appear when school buses stop and, in accordance with Section 3 (2a) StVO, adjust the speed of their vehicle or be ready to brake so that school children are not endangered from the outset.
United States
In the United States, which is characterized by low population density and often inadequate public transportation, school buses have been the universal mode of transportation for public school students for decades. This applies to all grades, from kindergarten to grade 12. After a series of serious accidents with school buses, Frank W. Cyr , professor at Columbia University , organized a symposium in New York City in April 1939 with school representatives from all states and industry. At the end of the conference, which lasted several days, minimum requirements for the design, manufacture and operation of school buses in the USA were defined for the first time and recommendations were made. The typical chrome yellow color of National School Bus Chrome was chosen for this occasion . The color was chosen because of its particularly good visibility at dawn and dusk; slight deviations from this were accepted because the color was considered difficult to mix. Twelve more conferences of this kind followed by the 1960s. With the introduction of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, the US government became responsible. In 1974 an addendum was made concerning school buses.
The school buses are operated by independent local companies that work closely with the schools. In addition to transporting the children to and from school, the buses are also used for activities organized by the school, such as excursions , visits to the theater and the like. Some of the buses can also be rented for trips outside the school.
Use of the school bus is free for students there. In the 1970s and 1980s there were laws in the United States aimed at abolishing de facto racial segregation in schools and attempting to force the mixing of white and African American students. School buses were used during this time to get the students out of their mostly ethnically uniform parts of the city and - often against the resistance of the families - to bring them to ethnically mixed schools. When more modern approaches to abolishing racial segregation emerged in the 1990s, desegregation busing was abolished again.
Today the use of the school bus is voluntary; for some families it is more practical to drive the children to school in their own vehicle; others live in the immediate vicinity of their school and therefore have no right to use the bus. Transport logistics in the USA are simplified by the fact that the school day always begins and ends at the same time for all students in a school. Lessons lost due to illness are covered by substitute teachers. As a result, the proportion of students using the school bus is very high; it is around 54%. According to a fixed timetable, the students are picked up from certain stops (less often from their parents' house) and then dropped off again. In order to relieve the bus drivers of the supervision of the young passengers, adult supervisors ( monitors ) accompany them if necessary ; They are often even used regularly in buses that handicapped children travel on every day.
Around 440,000 school buses are in use in the United States today, transporting 25 million children every day. Different models are used, the equipment of the buses z. B. with special lights is uniform, as is the yellow paint. Very strict special traffic rules apply to behavior towards school buses. Special warning lights are switched on at school buses that stop and where students get on or off. As soon as this is the case, other road users are not allowed to drive their vehicle closer than 100 feet (approx. 30 meters) to the school bus and not drive past it, not even at walking pace and not in the opposite direction; in many states the latter is even true if the lanes are structurally separated. Violation of these rules can result in heavy fines, penalty points and, in some states, with disqualification from driving.
Students from private schools are not entitled to use the yellow school buses . Some private schools therefore organize their own bus service for their students. Private schools, day care centers and similar institutions can rent the buses for school trips for a fee.
Sign gallery
Official school bus sign in accordance with Appendix 4 ( BOKraft ) with the correct dimensions
Official school bus sign from the German Democratic Republic 1978 to 1990
Austrian version
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Sign 224 denotes stops for trams or buses
Together with the additional sign “School bus (daily use)”, a stop is specially marked for school buses
The combination of characters used until 2017 for school bus stops
The sign that has been mandatory for school bus stops since 2017
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Web links
- Useful information for children and parents
- Advisory website of the Bavarian State Ministry for Education and Culture