(a) Every bus used for the transportation of school children shall be equipped as follows:

(1) There shall be an emergency door located either at the rear of the body or at the side of the body opposite from the side on which the students normally board, so as to provide an emergency exit. The emergency door shall be operative from both the interior and exterior of the bus at all times;

(2) The driver's seat shall be equipped with a seat belt which shall be fastened so as to secure the driver in his seat at all times when children are being transported on the bus;

(3) Combination clearance and marker lights shall be installed at each of the four roof corners. The two such lights on the front of the vehicle shall be amber in color, and the two such lights on the rear of the vehicle shall be red in color. A cluster of three lights shall be mounted between the clearance and marker lights in the front and in the rear of the bus at the roof line thereof;

(4) The body of the bus shall be equipped with four hooded or recessed red flasher lights. Such lights shall be at least 5 3/4 inches in diameter, sealed beam, and must flash when the bus is stopped to receive or discharge passengers. Two such lights shall be mounted in the front of the body above the windshield, and two such lights shall be mounted on the rear of the body above the rear windows;

(5) There shall be installed on the left outer side of the body a stop arm to give notice to drivers of other vehicles that the bus is making a stop. The requirement for a stop arm may be waived by the State Board of Education in the event a more effective warning device is prescribed;

(6) The exhaust system of the bus shall carry exhaust gases from the engine to a discharge point into the atmosphere, which point:

(A) Shall extend beyond the rear axle and shall extend at least five inches beyond the chassis frame and be mounted outside the chassis rail at end point; or

(B) May extend to, but not beyond, the body limits on the left side of the bus, beyond the driver's compartment outboard of the chassis centerline;

(7) All floor joints of the bus shall be gas tight and constructed so as to prevent the entry of engine exhaust gases into the passenger compartment. Any opening or separation of joints in the floor shall be repaired before the bus is used for the transportation of children; and

(8) There shall be installed an outside roof mounted white flashing strobe light with clear lens emitting light 360 degrees around its vertical axis. Such strobe light shall be no greater than one-third the distance from the rear of the bus to the front of the bus and shall flash when the bus is stopped to receive or discharge passengers. Local boards of education shall be authorized, in their discretion, to require such strobe lights on buses carrying special education passengers.

(b) Nothing in subsection (a) of this Code section shall apply to motor vehicles operated by a local transit system which transport school children to and from school on regular or scheduled routes of a transit vehicle with regular fare-paying passengers.