All 50 States require traffic in both directions to stop on undivided highways when students are getting on or off a school bus. The wording varies from state to state, but generally, the law requires the following:

  • The school bus driver activates flashing yellow lights to indicate the school bus is preparing to stop to load or unload students.

  • At this point, motorists should slow down and prepare to stop.

  • The school bus driver activates flashing red lights and extends the stop arm to indicate the school bus has stopped and students are getting on or off.

  • At this point, motorists must stop their vehicles.

School Bus Tips

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IT’S A VERY REAL PROBLEM ALL OVER THE U.S.

When drivers pass a school bus, the potential for injury or death is high. In the mid-90s, several States conducted surveys to determine the actual extent of illegal passing. What they found was worse than they had imagined.

  • The School Transportation Management Section of the Florida Department of Education conducted a study in 1995 through the University of South Florida. On one day in May of that year, 10,590 vehicles illegally passed stopped school buses in 58 of Florida's 67 school districts. Since approximately 11,150 school buses participated in the survey, there was nearly one illegal passing per school bus that day.

  • A one-day study conducted in September 1996 in 119 of the 131 school divisions in the state of Virginia. On that day, 3,394 Virginia motorists illegally passed a stopped school bus. Multiplying the results by a 180-day school year brings the total number of illegal passing to over 600,000 a year. Of the 3,394 total in September 1996, 187 were right-side passes, on the side of the bus students used to enter and exit.

  • In 1996, the Illinois Department of Transportation's Division of Traffic Safety conducted a probability-based sample survey of 250 school buses to estimate the total number of stop-arm violations in the state. Drivers of 250 buses recorded stop-arm violations during a 41-school day time period. The survey was completed and returned by 135 drivers who reported 3,450 violations. Based on the findings, the estimated number of stop-arm violations each year in Illinois is over 1,900,000, making it a major traffic safety problem.

In Massachusetts, drivers on the opposite side of a divided highway should not stop for a school bus with flashing red lights. State law varies in what is required on a divided highway and what constitutes a divided highway. AAA maintains a great list where you can find school bus laws for your state here.