Most of our school bus safety issues seem like simple common sense and are easily dismissed after a few months of not seeing the familiar yellow school buses on the roads or the flashing red lights that accompany them.
This is a reminder that after the summer break and local delays due to fires in the area, schools will be back in session. Every year new students become part of the school bus system, and now is a great time to review traffic laws and remind ourselves how important it is to watch out for children and school buses.
Remember to watch for yellow school buses and lights, and that it’s illegal to pass school buses that are stopped to pick up or unload children.
Yellow flashing lights on a school bus alert drivers that the bus is preparing to stop.
Watch for red lights and stop sign-arms. When a school bus has stopped, the lights will change to red and the red stop arm will swing out when the school bus door is open. At this point, everyone must stop. When students are embarking or leaving a school bus, all traffic must come to a complete stop, in both directions, and in all lanes.
Drivers must stop on the street or highway 20 feet or more from any school bus that has stopped and is flashing red warning lights. This applies both to vehicles approaching from the rear and from the opposing lanes. All lanes of traffic must stop for the school bus, except in opposing lanes if the highway is divided with a center median. No vehicle may proceed until the bus resumes motion and has turned off the red warning lights.
The stop arm on the bus is an added communication to other drivers, but the lack of an extended stop arm is not a reason to pass a bus whose red lights are flashing.
If you approach a stopped school bus, do not pass. Stay behind the bus. Don’t block crosswalks near bus stops or on routes to school. When you come to a stop behind a school bus, leave enough space to allow children to safely come and go from the vehicle. You should never pass a school bus on the right side.
Whether it’s a police officer, crossing guard, or a student crossing guard – if you’re directed to “stop”, do so.
A vehicle owner can be cited when the driver of a car passes a school bus illegally. A law enforcement officer need not witness this violation if the school bus driver reports it to the law enforcement agency within 24 hours. Fines can be quite high for illegally passing a school bus, but the risk of hitting a child is even higher.