Vermont § 1283 - Identification and equipment of school buses

§ 1283. Identification and equipment of school buses

• (a) Types I and II school buses shall be: (1) Identified with the words, “School Bus,” printed in letters not less than eight inches
  high, located between the warning signal lamps as high as possible without impairing
  visibility of the lettering from both front and rear. (2) Painted national school bus glossy yellow, except that the hood shall be either national
  school bus glossy yellow or lusterless black, the fenders shall be either national
  school bus glossy yellow or black, and the roof shall be either national school bus
  glossy yellow or white. For Type II school buses, the requirements of this subdivision
  and subdivision (a)(3) of this section shall apply to any new bus ordered on or after
  January 1, 2000. (3) Equipped with bumpers of glossy black, unless for increased night visibility they
  are covered with a reflective material, or, if the school bus is a plug-in electric
  vehicle, blue. (4) Equipped with a system of signal lamps approved by the Commissioner, including an
  eight-light system on any new or used school bus ordered on and after July 1, 1976.
  The driver of a Type I or a Type II school bus shall keep the alternately flashing
  red signal lamps lighted whenever school children are being received or discharged,
  and they shall be used only for that purpose. A school bus driver found in violation
  of this subdivision shall be guilty of a traffic violation. (5)(A) Equipped with a system of mirrors, if such a system is necessary to give the seated
  driver a view of the roadway to each side of the bus, and of the area immediately
  in front of the front bumper, in accordance with the following procedure: when a rod,
  30 inches long, is placed upright on the ground at any point along a traverse line
  one foot forward of the forward most point of a school bus, and extending the width
  of the bus, at least seven inches of the length of the rod shall be visible to the
  driver, either by direct view or by means of an indirect visibility system. (B) In addition, equipped with an inside mirror so located as to give the driver clear
  vision of the interior of the bus, and an outside mirror located on each side of the
  bus located so as to give an unobstructed view of the road to the rear. (6) In compliance with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for school buses as
  of the date of manufacture. (b) Any school bus meeting the identification requirements of subdivisions (a)(1)-(4)
  of this section that is permanently converted for use wholly for purposes other than
  transporting pupils to or from school, or transporting organized groups of preschool
  or school-age children, shall be painted a color other than national school bus glossy
  yellow and shall have the stop arm, if any, and equipment required by this section
  removed. (c) Type I and Type II school buses being operated on a public highway and transporting
  primarily passengers other than school pupils shall have the words “School Bus” covered,
  removed, or otherwise concealed, and the stop arms and equipment permitted by section 1281a of this title shall not be operable through the usual controls. (d) No motor vehicle other than a school bus shall display the identifying equipment and
  signs required by this section. (Added 1975, No. 149 (Adj. Sess.), § 8; amended 1977, No. 102, § 6, eff. Sept. 1, 1977; 1977, No. 180 (Adj. Sess.), eff. April 3, 1978; 1979, No. 12, eff. March 19, 1979; 1979, No. 39, § 2; 1979, No. 107 (Adj. Sess.); 1987, No. 209 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 1997, No. 32, § 4; 2015, No. 47, § 30; 2019, No. 149 (Adj. Sess.), § 12, eff. July 13, 2020.)