Washington Administrative Code › Title 204 - State Patrol (Equipment) (See also Titles 212, 446 and 448) › Chapter 204-21 - Lighting requirements › Section 204-21-190 - School bus warning lamps

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) If
			 the bus is a privately owned school bus or private carrier bus, then it must
			 not use the eight lamp warning system unless such use is in conformance with
			 the rules and regulations set forth by the superintendent of public instruction
			 in chapters 392-143 and 392-145 WAC. The requirements for private carrier buses
			 may be found under chapter 204-32 WAC.
(2) If the bus is a school bus owned and
			 operated by any public school district and all privately owned school buses
			 operated under contract with a school district in the state and used for the
			 transportation of public school children, then the warning lamp system must:
(a) Be operated in accordance with the
			 regulations set forth in chapter 392-145 WAC.
(b) Consist of a total of eight lamps
			 conforming to SAE Standard J887 or the standard in effect for such lamp at the
			 time it was manufactured. Two amber and two red on both the front and rear of
			 the bus. The amber lamps must be mounted inboard of the red lamps.
(c) Be mounted as high as practicable on the
			 bus body and as near the outside edges of the body as curvature
			 permits.
(d) Have shielding to
			 protect the lamps from the elements and/or be mounted flush with the body
			 surface.
(e) Be mounted on a
			 background that is painted black and extends a minimum of three inches outward
			 from the lamps.
(f) Be mounted and
			 aimed as specified in  49 C.F.R. Part 571.108  (FMVSS 108) and SAE Standard
			 J887a.
(g) Be clearly visible from
			 a distance of at least five hundred feet in normal sunlight.
(h) Be activated only by means of a manually
			 operated switch. Such activation will cause the right and left amber lamps to
			 flash alternately until the stop signal arm is extended, or the bus entrance
			 door is opened, at which time the amber lamps must be automatically deactivated
			 and the right and left red lamps must be automatically activated. Whenever the
			 warning lamp system has been activated, opening of the entrance door must
			 automatically deactivate the amber lamps, cause the stop signal arm to extend,
			 and activate the red lamps. Automatic extension of the stop signal arm does not
			 apply to systems equipped with a manually operated stop signal arm.
(i) Have all lamps flashing at a rate from
			 sixty to one hundred twenty times per minute and must reach full brilliance
			 during each cycle.
(j) Have lamp
			 controls which must consist of:
(i) The master
			 or sequencing switch which must be in plain view and mounted within easy reach
			 of the driver, and which must activate the system sequencing and deactivate the
			 system at any time during the sequence.
(ii) An override switch which must
			 automatically activate the red lamps whenever the stop signal arm is extended
			 even though the master control switch is turned off, and which must
			 automatically deactivate the amber lamps if previously activated regardless of
			 the then present normal state of sequencing or entrance door position. Such
			 override switch must be designed and installed so as to function with air,
			 vacuum, electric, or manually operated stop signal arms. The stop signal arm
			 must be capable of being extended at any time, regardless of the position of
			 the entrance door. The opening of the entrance door must not cause extension of
			 the stop signal arm, or the activation of the red lamps unless the master
			 switch has been activated.
(iii) A
			 minimum of two pilot lamps, one amber and one red, each of which must flash
			 when the like colored warning lamps are in operation. Pilot lamps which show
			 the operation of each individual lamp are permissible. All pilot indicators
			 must be located so as to be clearly visible to the driver.