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  • 2021-08-21 (xsd:date)
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  • What Are the Black Lines on a School Bus For? (en)
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  • In August 2021, an old rumor was recirculated on social media in the form of a meme that claims that the three black lines on the side of a school bus have an unusual purpose: to indicate where the floor and the seats were positioned inside the bus to help emergency crews in the case of an accident: This rumor has gone viral several times over the years. In March 2021, for example, a video from school bus enthusiast ClawBoss racked up nearly 4 million views. The YouTuber said: Many school busses do have stripes on the side of the bus, called rub rails, and generally speaking, these stripes tend to line up with the floor level and seat levels inside. However, the primary purpose of rub rails is to add structure to the bus, and their precise location varies from bus to bus. While they can provide a general idea of where the floor and seats are from outside the bus, these are not exact measurements, and we have not seen any evidence that emergency crews truly rely on these stripes during an accident. A spokesperson for American school bus manufacturer Blue Bird told us: While rub rails are required per national school bus safety standards, manufacturers are not required to precisely align these stripes precisely with any interior equipment. A 2010 report from The National Congress on School Transportation notes that there is some leeway when positioning these rails. The middle rub rail, for example, is placed within eight inches of the seat level. The lower rub rail is placed within 10 inches of the floor line. Jalopnik found similar guidelines from the North Carolina Department of Transportation. These guidelines, too, noted that the approximate location for these rails: Guardrails shall be located at the following approximate locations: floor level, seat level, and windowsill level. While these stripes generally line up with the floor and seat, they are not exact indicators of any interior equipment, which gives us pause about the claim that these stripes are used in emergency situations. We reached out to various firefighting departments for more information about their training and we will update this article accordingly. As it stands, however, we have not been able to find any training material, news reports, interviews, etc... mentioning that emergency crews use these stripes during accidents. Interestingly, this rumor was addressed in another Youtube video from the Miss Hood's School Bus Life channel. While this channel initially posted a video claiming that these stripes were designed to line up with the floor and seats inside the bus, they posted a follow-up video emphasizing that the true purpose of the rub rail was to add stability to the bus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t2Ikswf9F0&t=145s While rub rails may provide a general idea of where the seats are placed, these are not specific markings to indicate the position of the floor and seats inside the bus. The primary purpose of a rub rail is to add structure and stability to a school bus. (en)
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