Safety yellow
A bright yellow chosen for safety signs and high-visibility gear
Safety yellow is a vivid yellow shade chosen for its ability to attract attention. It is set by standards in the United States, Britain, and Australia, and is widely used for warning signs, protective clothing, and school buses.
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- Chosen for visibility in safety standards since 1937
- Defines the colour of school buses in the United States
- Known as golden yellow in Australia
- Used for warning signs and high-visibility clothing
What colour is Safety yellow?
Safety yellow is a strong, clear yellow shade that is easy to spot from a distance. It stands out sharply against most backgrounds, making it ideal for drawing attention where it matters most. This colour is set by official standards to make sure it is always the same bright yellow, no matter where it is used.
Where does Safety yellow come from?
The name 'safety yellow' comes from its use in settings where visibility and caution are important. In 1937, research showed that this yellow was the most noticeable colour to people. This led to its adoption for school buses in the United States, replacing the previous orange shade. The colour is now defined by standards in several countries.
How Safety yellow is defined
Safety yellow is not tied to a single pigment or material. Instead, it is defined by colour standards, such as ANSI Z535 in the United States, BS 381C in the United Kingdom, and AS2700 in Australia, which ensure the same shade is used for safety purposes.
Where Safety yellow is used
You will see safety yellow on warning and information signs, guard rails, and equipment where safety is a concern. It is also used for high-visibility clothing and was chosen for American school buses from the late 1930s onward. In Australia, it is called golden yellow.
What Safety yellow means
This colour signals caution and helps protect people by making hazards easier to notice. Its use in safety gear and signs is meant to reduce accidents by catching attention quickly. In the United States, its adoption for school buses also links it to child safety.
Yellow around the world
What the yellow family means from country to country.
The yellow disc of the Aboriginal flag is the sun, giver of life. The flag was designed by the Luritja artist Harold Thomas and first flown in Adelaide in 1971.
Sacred and holySource: Australian Aboriginal flagA yellow ribbon tied round a tree or pinned to a coat means someone is waiting for a loved one to come home. It spread during the Iran hostage crisis of 1979 to 1981.
Protection and healingLove and desireHopeSource: Yellow ribbonSchool buses across the country are painted one shade of yellow, agreed at a conference in 1939 because black lettering on it is easy to read in early morning light.
Protection and healingSource: School bus yellowAt the gaye holud, held a day or two before a wedding, relatives rub turmeric paste on the bride and groom. Guests dress in yellow and orange.
Weddings and marriageFestival and celebrationJoySource: Gaye holudOn Pohela Falgun, the first day of spring, young women wear yellow and orange saris, a shade called basanti, with flowers in their hair.
Festival and celebrationNature and renewalJoySource: Pohela FalgunThe Flemish flag is a black lion on yellow, and the Walloon flag a red cockerel on yellow. The language communities are often shown by these colours.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of FlandersShades and relatives of Safety yellow
Safety yellow is closely related to school bus yellow, which is a specific shade used for buses in the United States. In Australia, a similar tone is called golden yellow. These shades are all bright, but may differ slightly depending on the standard.
Colours that go with Safety yellow
Harmonies are worked out from the value #EED202. Contrast ratios follow the WCAG 2 formula.
Questions people ask about Safety yellow
What colour is safety yellow?
Safety yellow is a bright, clear yellow chosen for its high visibility and ability to catch the eye quickly.
Why is it called safety yellow?
The name comes from its use in settings where being noticed is important for safety, such as warning signs and protective clothing.
Where is safety yellow used?
It appears on warning signs, guard rails, some equipment, high-visibility clothing, and school buses in the United States.
When did safety yellow become standard?
It was standardised in 1937 after studies found it was the most noticeable colour for people.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Shades of yellow" (the section "Safety yellow"), written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Rang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. The swatch is an approximation: named colours are not fixed standards, and every screen shows them a little differently. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.
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