A school bus crossing arm is a safety device intended to protect children from being struck while crossing in front of a school bus. Typically, school bus crossing arms are wire or plastic devices which extend from the front bumper on the right side of the bus when the door is open for loading/unloading and form a barrier. The devices force children, who need to cross the road, to stand several feet in front of the bus itself before they can begin to cross the road. This ensures that the bus driver can see them as they cross, avoiding a common blind spot immediately in front of the bus, closest to the bumper. The crossing arm retracts flush against the bumper while not activated, such as when the bus is in motion.
The crossing arm can be seen in use. Note the presence of the rotated yellow bar on the front bumper.
Regulatory historyedit
Unlike traffic warning lights and many other safety-related features typically found on school buses in the United States, crossing arms are not required by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) for School Buses. Regulations for equipment and use vary widely on a state-by-state basis. In some places, they are optional at the discretion of a local school district or school bus contractor.[citation needed]
The 1990 death of six-year-old Elizabeth "Betsy" Anderson, in Washington State, led to the installation of school bus crossing arms, also referred to as "Betsy Bars" or "Betsy Gates" on all Washington state school buses by 1992.[citation needed] The crossing arms, when extended, require students to cross at least 5 feet (1.5 m) in front of the bus.
In Manitoba, Canada, provincial school buses have been required to have an extendable safety arm mounted on the bus since a seven-year-old boy died in 1996 in St. Norbert after getting off his school bus.[citation needed]
school, crossing, school, crossing, safety, device, intended, protect, children, from, being, struck, while, crossing, front, school, typically, school, crossing, arms, wire, plastic, devices, which, extend, from, front, bumper, right, side, when, door, open, . A school bus crossing arm is a safety device intended to protect children from being struck while crossing in front of a school bus Typically school bus crossing arms are wire or plastic devices which extend from the front bumper on the right side of the bus when the door is open for loading unloading and form a barrier The devices force children who need to cross the road to stand several feet in front of the bus itself before they can begin to cross the road This ensures that the bus driver can see them as they cross avoiding a common blind spot immediately in front of the bus closest to the bumper The crossing arm retracts flush against the bumper while not activated such as when the bus is in motion The crossing arm can be seen in use Note the presence of the rotated yellow bar on the front bumper Regulatory history editUnlike traffic warning lights and many other safety related features typically found on school buses in the United States crossing arms are not required by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards FMVSS for School Buses Regulations for equipment and use vary widely on a state by state basis In some places they are optional at the discretion of a local school district or school bus contractor citation needed The 1990 death of six year old Elizabeth Betsy Anderson in Washington State led to the installation of school bus crossing arms also referred to as Betsy Bars or Betsy Gates on all Washington state school buses by 1992 citation needed The crossing arms when extended require students to cross at least 5 feet 1 5 m in front of the bus In Manitoba Canada provincial school buses have been required to have an extendable safety arm mounted on the bus since a seven year old boy died in 1996 in St Norbert after getting off his school bus citation needed External links editIllinois standards for school bus crossing arms typical of many states http community seattletimes nwsource com archive date 19921023 amp slug 1520209 http apps leg wa gov RCW default aspx cite 46 37 620 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title School bus crossing arm amp oldid 1182700678, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
