STOP DILUTING SCHOOL BUS LIGHTS

NEW SCHOOL BUS LIGHTS ARE CONFUSED WITH
NEW WARNING LIGHTS USED ON OTHER VEHICLES

Suddenly, many accidents are occurring where school children are hit while crossing the street while "protected" by the stop arms on school buses.

The following facts are common to these accidents:

1. THE SCHOOL BUS WAS NOT RECOGNIZED AS A SCHOOL BUS.
   • Some school systems are putting strobe bulbs in the bus lights.
   • The lights don't match the expected pattern.
   • Drivers think the vehicle is some other kind of service vehicle.
   • One driver thought the bus was a UFO and sped up to get away from it.
2. STROBE LIGHTS CAUSED THE OTHER DRIVER TO FREEZE OR DAZZLED THE DRIVER.
   • The lights are bright enough to dazzle the driver, hiding the children.
   • Rapidly flashing lights cause the brain to stop. But the car does not stop.
   • Strobe lights have caused epileptic seizures.
   • That's why red-traffic-light strobes were banned. Do we have to learn the lesson again?
3. THE YELLOW LIGHTS WERE TURNED ON TOO EARLY.
   • This is for traffic clearance, not alerting drivers to the presence of the bus.
   • Traffic clearance should not be longer than 6 seconds.
   • Long yellow period makes drivers think it is a trash truck.
4. THESE ACCIDENTS HAPPENED IN THE DARK.
   • There is no excuse for children going to school in the dark.
   • Abolish daylight-saving time.
   • Indiana belongs in the central time zone.
5. CHILDREN STARTED TO CROSS TOO SOON.
   • They must wait until traffic actually stops.
   • The red lights coming on should not be the signal to cross.

POSSIBLE CAUSES

Answers

A. Construction

B. Tow Truck (old)

C. Trash Truck (old)

D. Mower

E. Tow Truck (new)

F. Ambulance (old)

G. School Bus (new)

H. Utility Truck

I. Construction

J. School Bus (old)

K. Construction

L. Construction

M. Trash Truck (new)

N. Ambulance (new)

O. Warning Sign Veh.

• THE SCHOOL BUS LOOKED LIKE ANOTHER TYPE OF SERVICE VEHICLE

  Too many service vehicles look like school buses at night:

  1. Construction Vehicles
  2. Road Maintenance Vehicles
  3. Utility Vehicles
  4. Tow Trucks
  5. Trash Collecting Trucks
  6. Mowing Machines
  7. Ambulances
  8. Warning Sign Vehicles

  Look at the light patterns at right and try to decide which pattern is which. Each letter shows the top of a different vehicle.

  Also look for the old and new school bus patterns. Which letters are they?

• THE SCHOOL BUS LOOKED LIKE A SERVICE VEHICLE WITH RED LIGHTS

  Too many service vehicles have flashing red lights. Too often these lights are there solely to keep traffic from crashing into the vehicle. That is the purpose of a flashing yellow light, not a flashing red light.

  Compare pattern G with pattern M. Which is the bus and which is the trash truck?

• DAYLIGHT-SAVING TIME HAS SCHOOL CHILDREN GOING TO SCHOOL IN THE DARK

  This is totally unnecessary.

• THE SCHOOL BUS HAD THE YELLOW LIGHTS ON TOO LONG

  The page author has seen the yellow flashing lights on for 30 seconds or longer. This is too long. Having these lights on too long makes the driver think the bus is a service vehicle.

  If the yellow lights are on more than 6 seconds, other drivers will think the vehicle is a service vehicle, not a school bus. The time the yellow lights are on should be the same as a traffic signal yellow light.

  Leaving the lights on longer does NOT provide more warning. It provides more confusion.

• THE CHILDREN STARTED TO CROSS TOO SOON

  The red lights do not guarantee that vehicles will immediately stop.

• THE CHILDREN ARE NOT LIGHTED

  Instead, they are hidden behind the dazzle of the bus lights.

• THE BUS DRIVER MOVED THE STOP ARM WHEN A CAR WAS TOO CLOSE TO STOP

  If the car is too close to stop before passing the bus, it must go past the bus.

• BRIGHT NEW BUS LIGHTS DAZZLE DRIVERS - SOME CAN'T SEE ANYTHING ELSE

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  This means that some drivers can't see the children.

  • Photophobic drivers (overly sensitive to light) see nothing but the lights and a glow around them. It looks similar to the image at right.
  • The brilliance destroys the dark-adaptation of the eyes of drivers.
  • The brilliance can cause faint cataracts in the lenses to glow, fogging vision.
  • The bright lights can cause afterimages, which further block vision.

  The page author has seen the following effects from extra-bright school bus lights against a totally dark background.

  • Seeing nothing but the lights because the lights dazzled the eyes.
  • Seeing nothing but the lights and a glow around them because the windshield was dusty or foggy.
  • Seeing rays from the lights. This is the same diffraction effect that makes stars look like they have points.
  • In fog, corona rings around the lights (like the glow seen around the moon in fog).
  • In ice fogs, the 22° halo around the lights (like halos seen around the moon or sun).

  All of these effects keep drivers from seeing the children in the dark.

• FLASHING THE LIGHTS AT THE BRAIN ALPHA FREQUENCY CONFUSES DRIVERS

  Is that a bicycle?
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  Some drivers are affected by fast-flashing lights.

  • Some drivers see distorted images of the lights. It looks similar to the image at right.
  • Some people freeze when they see the fast-flashing lights. The moving car does not freeze.
  • Some people can't think normally when they see fast-flashing lights.
  • The fast-flashing lights can cause the brain to "reset" (as when awakening from sleep).
  • One driver thought the bus lights were a UFO hovering over the road.

  These drivers are not thinking "school bus".

  They are thinking "What is this thing?"

• FLASHING LIGHTS AT THE ALPHA FREQUENCY CAN START AN EPILEPTIC SEIZURE

  

  The page author has seen this happen to several people. One was driving a car.

  • This is usually an absence seizure (loss of awareness), not a convulsive one.
  • This was a common event when strobe lights were used in light shows.
  • This is why they banned strobe lights in red traffic signals.

POSSIBLE REMEDIES

• REQUIRE OTHER SERVICE VEHICLE LIGHTS TO BE UNLIKE SCHOOL-BUS LIGHTS

  • Prohibit other service vehicles from having alternating flashing lights.
  • Alternating flashing lights must be unique to school buses.

• REQUIRE SCHOOL-BUS LIGHTS TO STICK TO THE ORIGINAL DEFINITION

  • No multiply-strobing lights.
  • Lights must behave like incandescent lights.

• NO RED LIGHTS ON SERVICE VEHICLES WITH NO LEGAL POWER TO STOP TRAFFIC

  • Red lights must not be used to prevent collision hazards.
  • Red lights must be prohibited from the tops of service vehicles that have no legal power to stop traffic.

• ABOLISH DAYLIGHT-SAVING TIME

  • There is no reason for children going to school in the dark.
  • It has now been proved that daylight-saving time does not save energy.

• LIMIT THE TIME THE YELLOW BUS LIGHTS ARE ON TO 6 SECONDS

  • This is a clearance period for stopping traffic, not an extended warning of the presence of the bus.
  • They should be on just long enough to do the job.
  • Other lighting should identify the bus as a school bus (e.g. the SCHOOL BUS sign).

• LIGHT THE CHILDREN WITH LIGHTS ON THE BUS.

  • White lights should be mounted on the bus to illuminate the children crossing the street.
  • One light should be mounted as far forward as possible and aimed across the road. Another should be mounted somewhat behind the front stop arm and aimed at where the children cross the road.
  • The idea is that drivers can see the children in the dark, not so the children can see where they are going.

• TEACH CHILDREN NOT TO START TO CROSS UNTIL TRAFFIC HAS STOPPED

  • Provide the moving arm that used to be on some buses to stop children until the way is clear.
  • Provide a signal from the driver when they can start crossing.

• TEACH BUS DRIVERS TO NOT MOVE THE STOP ARM WHEN OTHER DRIVERS ARE TOO CLOSE

  • The driver must wait until there is no car too close to stop safely before moving the arm.
  • The driver must look to see if the bus can be hidden from some drivers by large trucks.

• DO NOT FLASH ANY LIGHTS FASTER THAN ONCE PER SECOND

  • Fast flashing can cause confusion or an epileptic seizure.
  • It distracts driver attention away from the children.

• MAKE SURE THAT SERVICE VEHICLES ARE USING APPROVED LIGHTING

  • The fact that a lighting device is sold on the market does not mean that it is safe.