School buses have been around since the 1900s, and today more than 90% of U.S. schools use them for transporting students to and from school daily.
The inside of a school bus is designed to deal with many children and provide a safe, comfortable environment for learning.
School buses are painted a specific color, such as yellow or orange, on the outside but have white roofs for several reasons. Why do school buses have white roofs?
Here are 4 of the reasons – Why School Buses Have White Roofs
1. Moderate the Temperatures on a Hot Day
The white roof will reflect the excess heat or sunlight when it is hot outside. This is a scientific fact. This will allow the ceiling and walls to stay cool and protect the children from getting burned or dehydrated due to excessive heat outside.
White color is considered a cooling agent, which is why it is used on the roof of most vehicles. The bus’s roof reflects the heat to its source, the sun.
Dark colors absorb heat energy, so you should choose white roofing in hot climates. This benefits the children inside, their teacher, and the bus driver.
2. Maintains a Warm Environment on a Cold Day
White color is a poor conductor of heat, meaning it does not absorb a lot of cold when cold outside. The white roof will stay comfortable on a cold day as the temperature drops.
If a bus was painted or covered with a dark-colored roof, it would stay cool because of its dark color. This would make it harder for the bus driver to maintain passengers’ comfort and safety inside the bus.
3. Improves Visibility by Other Motorists
The white roof makes it easier for other motorists to see and avoid the bus when it is moving. As the sun moves across the sky, the white color of a bus will reflect enough light to make it visible to other drivers.
On the other hand, dark colors absorb the sunlight and cannot reflect enough light to make it easy for motorists to see them. The glare from a car’s dark color roof is 10 times worse than from a white roof.
4. Protects the Interior from Sunlight
The inside of a school bus faces plenty of challenges to provide a relaxing, comfortable, and safe environment for students as they travel to school every day.
Unlike dark-colored roofs, the white roof will not produce too much heat inside the bus. This protects the students from excessive heat or cold. The white roof is designed to balance the temperature and maintain a safe environment inside, no matter how hot or cold it is outside.
Conclusion – Why School Buses Have White Roofs
A white roof reflects heat and offers excellent visibility, which makes it a great addition to any school bus. Whether you have a bus with a white roof or one covered in dark colors, it is safe and efficient to use.
The white roof of the school bus helps calm children during the summer months when temperatures are high outside and allows them to stay safe inside during winter when it is cold.
