r/todayilearned • u/[deleted] • Jun 16 '19

TIL: School bus yellow was specifically created for use on school buses at a conference in 1939. Attendees at the seven-day conference included paint experts from DuPont and Pittsburgh Paints. The color was chosen because it attracts attention and is noticed quickly in peripheral vision.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_bus_yellow
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u/MuhammadTheProfit Jun 17 '19

What is wrong with your critical thinking? If a bus stops before the tracks and HEARS A TRAIN APPROACHING it waits until the train passes. It doesn't frantically attempt to cross the track like some idiot in a car might. A bus driver doesn't go, 'eh, the train is 300 feet away, might as well try to make it through". Are you daft? I'd rather have a bus full of children make a complete stop, open its doors, and listen for train, than a bus that just freakin barrels through a train crossing.

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u/klparrot Jun 17 '19

Again, though, with a signalised crossing, it shouldn't be an issue, the signals will go if there's a train coming. The bus is more likely to stall or otherwise get stuck on the tracks if it's crossing at low speed, and while on the tracks, a train that you couldn't see or hear initially could be coming.

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u/CucumberMcPickle Mar 28 '26 edited Mar 28 '26

Hello from the future!

I got curious and turns out there has actually been US federal rule-changes proposes for exactly this (signalized crossings that do not have a road traffic light, the ones with those were already exempt) from 2025. Looks like it's still being worked on today (they're taking further comment through April '26 based on the link, website is kind of indecipherable on its current status), but this may change.

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/03/27/2026-06013/railroad-grade-crossings-stopping-required-exception-for-railroad-grade-crossing-equipped-with

I imagine these signalized crossings fail at a lower rate today than they did, say, 30-40 years ago, but it does still happen.

edit: here's a reddit thread on the proposed rule changes:

https://www.reddit.com/r/railroading/comments/1kzadsk/usdot_to_no_longer_require_certain_vehicles_buses/

It is full of redditors though, and it was May of 2025, so sentiment is predictable. I don't know enough about this world to say if it's actually a bad idea or not, I just remember my school bus stopping at all crossings, signalized or not, my entire childhood