I was on a bus this weekend and was bored enough that I was reading all of the posted signs. I noticed that the one that said you had to stand in back of the yellow line cited it as being required by a federal law.
Anyone have a cite?
It’s probably a regulation of the Department of Transportation.
Was this a local bus or an interstate bus, like a Grayhound?
It might not make a difference if the local transit company receives any Federal funds (which is likely).
I don’t know if the CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) is searchable on the web. Even if it were, it’s a real bear to go through.
My local Minneapolis city bus has a sign that says you must stay behind the yellow line while the bus is moving.
No statement that it’s a federal law either.
Plus, lots of people don’t obey it and the drivers never yell at you.
It’s a safety thing in case the door were to malfunction and open and suck you out, I suppose. Or if someone were to randomly fire a gun at the door, however that sounds a tad absurd, since the bullet would then hit the driver…
I tried hacking my way through Title 49 of the CFR which covers Federal Transportation standards. There are many of them dealing with safety. I didn’t find one exactly about the line on the bus, but I would not be surprised if it is lurking in there somewhere.
The DOT does have the authority to establish safety standards for any motor vehicle in the U.S. And they are quite specific.
I’d rather say it’s because the driver wants to be able to see what’s happening on the right side of the bus (and use the rear-view mirror).
I have a few friends that drive city busses. I’ve stood at the yellow line a lot. The driver being able to see out the door and at the side mirror are the main reasons. Driving something that large, you use the side mirrors quite a bit. Plus, they have to use the mirror to check and see that anyone getting out the back door is clear of the bus before pulling away from the curb.
From personal experience, another reason is to keep the passenger from doing a face plant into the windshield if the driver has to stop quickly. I’ve come close to having to pick my teeth off the windshield on many occassions.