I have noticed some school busses with white, blinking lights on the
top of the roofs. I am wondering what the lights are for. Not all the
busses have them and the only other similar light I have seen are the
lights at intersections the police and ambulances trigger to change
the traffic signals--opticom, I think it is called. Are the lights so
that Aliens will know those are school busses or something? (Just
kidding!!)

Hi Groendog,
Rest assured these lights are a safety measure, and are not alien
beacons as far as i know:
    
"Have you seen a school bus recently with a white, flashing light on
its roof?  Do you know what the purpose of that light is?
In an effort to improve visibility of its school buses, the
Monroe-Woodbury School District has equipped most of them with rooftop
strobe lights.  These lights have been helping protect school buses in
other states but have only recently been approved for use in New York.

School buses are particularly vulnerable to being hit by other
vehicles since they must frequently stop in the roadway to pick up and
discharge children.  Director of Transportation Cliff Berchtold
commented, “You would think that everyone would notice a big, yellow
school bus, but cars do run into us.  Often the motorists claim not to
have seen our bus.” He hopes the new lights will also avoid crashes at
intersections.  “In New York State, two-thirds of school bus
collisions occur at intersections and, in this region, increasing
traffic makes our intersections more dangerous each year.”
Monroe-Woodbury has been buying its buses with rooftop strobe lights
for the past six years.  By planning ahead in this way, more than half
the fleet is now equipped with strobe lights.  School bus drivers will
be using the protective lights when transporting children during
conditions that might impede visibility of the bus.  Berchtold said,
“We’re excited to be one of the first bus fleets in New York to use
rooftop strobe lights.  This little light is a major milestone in
school bus safety.”
http://mwcsd.mw.k12.ny.us/district/strobelight.html
     
Specialty Manufacturing, Inc. produces safety equipment for school
buses, commercial and trucking vehicles, such as stop signs, crossing
arms, strobe lights, and hatches
 "In 1993, recognizing a market need for a better strobe light,
Specialty designed a new series of strobe lights for stop arms and for
roof mounting. Strobe lights attract the attention of other motorists
increasing a vehicle's operating safety especially during passenger
loading and unloading. Specialty strobes are manufactured at the
Pineville, N.C. plant."
http://www.specmfg.com/company.html
Strobe products for School buses
http://www.specmfg.com/products_bus_5.html
 
I hope this helps!
regards,
JACKBURTON-ga
   
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Search terms used:
"school buses" light OR lights roof

Thanks. This had been driving me nuts although I suspected this was
the answer. I am not sure how someone in a litle car sees the light
clear up on the roof, but that's ok. Luckily I drive a Van.

Thanks for the tip, Groendog! :)

I just noticed that I spelled "buses" incorrectly & am mortified!