§ 4361. | § 4362. | § 4363. | § 4364. | § 4365. | § 4366. | § 4367.
§ 4361. Skid chains and snow tires; penalty.
When the highways are covered with snow or ice, the operator of any school bus shall not transport school children upon any of the highways of this State without tire chains on the outside rear wheels of the bus or unless all rear wheels are equipped with tires having treads designed for use in snow, which tires must be in such condition as to serve the purpose for which they are designed. Any person violating this section shall be fined not less than $10 nor more than $100, or imprisoned not more than 10 days or both. (43 Del. Laws, c. 192, §§ 1, 2; 21 Del. C. 1953, § 4363; 49 Del. Laws, c. 240.)
(a) Every school bus shall bear the words "SCHOOL BUS" in black letters at least 8 inches high with a stroke width of at least 3/4 inches on both the front and rear of the body or on signs attached thereto. Lettering shall be placed as high as possible and between the flashing lamps required in § 4364 of this title without impairment of its visibility, but under no circumstances shall the bottom of the letters be lower than the top of the window line of the vehicle on which it is displayed.
(b) When a school bus is being operated upon a highway for purposes other than the actual transportation of children, all markings thereon indicating "SCHOOL BUS" shall be covered, concealed or removed. (60 Del. Laws, c. 701, § 61.)
(a) Every school bus body, including hood, cowl and fenders, shall be painted the uniform color "national school bus chrome yellow." Front and rear bumpers shall be painted black. Body trim, if used, shall be black. The roof of a bus may be painted white extending down to within 6 inches above the drip rails on the sides of the body, except that front and rear roof caps shall remain national school bus chrome yellow.
(b) Every school bus body excluding mirrors shall have a minimum width of 75 inches and a minimum height of 79 inches from the road surface to the top of the roof. (60 Del. Laws, c. 701, § 62; 61 Del. Laws, c. 48, § 1; 71 Del. Laws, c. 354, § 376.)
(a) Every school bus must be equipped with 2 amber and 2 red lamps at the rear of the vehicle, and 2 amber and 2 red lamps at the front of the vehicle, which shall be controlled by a manually actuated switch, and when actuated shall flash alternately at the rate of 60 to 120 cycles per minute. The red lamps must be mounted at the same horizontal level with the top of the red lens not less than 84 inches above the road surface. The adjacent amber lens shall be mounted inboard of the red lens and shall be positioned either level with the red lens or with the top of the amber lens not more than 2 inches above the top of the red lens. It shall not be positioned below the red lens. Lamps shall be sealed beam or halogen units at least 51/2 inches in diameter and shall have sufficient intensity to be visible at 500 feet in normal sunlight.
(b) In addition to the amber and red lamps required under subsection (a) of this section, every school bus manufactured after January 1, 2001, must be equipped with a flashing white light permanently affixed to the outside roof of the bus. The flashing white light, when actuated, must have sufficient intensity to be visible at 500 feet in normal sunlight. The Department of Education shall adopt rules or regulations that determine the specifications for the light unit, its operation, and its placement on the outside roof of a school bus. (60 Del. Laws, c. 701, § 63; 61 Del. Laws, c. 47, § 1; 71 Del. Laws, c. 354, § 378; 72 Del. Laws, c. 364, § 1.)
(a) Every school bus must be equipped with 1 stop signal device, commonly referred to as a stop arm. The stop signal device shall meet the applicable requirement of the Society of Automotive Engineers J1133, be of an octagonal shape approximately 18 inches in diameter, be red in color with a white border approximately 1/2 inch wide, have the word "STOP" located near the middle of the sign in 6 inch white letters 1 inch in width. The stop signal device shall, in addition to having the above requirements on both sides of the sign, have 2 double faced red lights approximately 41/2 inches in diameter, 1 located near the top and 1 located near the bottom of the sign. The lights shall be wired to work in conjunction with the flashing red overhead lights located at the front and rear of the bus.
(b) The actuating mechanism of the sign shall be electrically operated and controlled through the same mechanism that actuates the flashing red overhead lights and shall be used only when the bus is stopped to pick up and discharge pupils.
(c) The sign is to be located on the left exterior side of the bus near the front of the bus body immediately below the window line. (65 Del. Laws, c. 447, § 1.)
§ 4366. Communication devices.
Every school bus being used for the transportation of children shall be equipped with a radio or telephonic communication device that will allow the driver of the bus to call for or receive calls for assistance in the event of an emergency. All costs associated with the purchase of communication devices and if applicable, the associated line charges, will be the responsibility of the State. All costs for use of communication devices for non 911 communications shall be the responsibility of the school district. Notwithstanding the above, any school district shall be free to absorb any such costs to its own account. (70 Del. Laws, c. 508, § 1; 74 Del. Laws, c. 274, § 1.)
(a) School buses used to transport special education students that have a medical need for air conditioning (specified by a physician), and that go to a special education school may be air conditioned.
(b) Internal ceiling-mounted air conditioning units mounted above the seats within the head protection zone or at the rear of the bus shall be padded with materials meeting FMVSS 302 and FMVSS 222 requirements. (71 Del. Laws, c. 354, § 377.)
NOTICE: The Delaware Code appearing on this site was prepared by the Division of Research of Legislative Council of the General Assembly with the assistance of the Government Information Center, under the supervision of the Delaware Code Revisors and the editorial staff of LexisNexis, includes all acts up to and including 76 Del. Laws, c. 421, effective August 21, 2008.
DISCLAIMER: Please Note: With respect to the Delaware Code documents available from this site or server, neither the State of Delaware nor any of its employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately-owned rights. This information is provided for informational purposes only. Please seek legal counsel for help on interpretation of individual statutes.