School buses

By the end of this topic you can

• You can tell what flashing yellow and flashing red lights on a school bus mean.
• You can stop at a safe distance from a bus with red lights flashing.
• You can decide whether you must stop when you are on the other side of a divided road.
• You can stay alert for children near a stopped bus even after the lights go off.

What you need to know and understand

• Flashing yellow (amber) lights mean the bus is about to stop: slow down and prepare to stop.
• Flashing red lights, often with a stop arm out, mean stop and stay stopped.
• On an undivided road, traffic in both directions must stop.
• On multi-lane roads the rule for oncoming traffic varies by state: in Oregon a painted median or center turn lane does not divide the road, so all lanes stop.
• On a highway divided by a raised median, unpaved strip or barrier, oncoming traffic usually does not have to stop. Varies by state.
• Stay stopped until the red lights stop flashing and the stop arm is pulled in.
• Penalties are serious. In California, fines can reach $1,000 and your license can be suspended for a year.

What the lights are telling you

School buses have yellow and red warning lights at the top, front and back. The yellow lights come on first as a warning that the bus is about to stop. When the bus stops and the doors open, the red lights flash and a stop arm with a STOP sign usually swings out from the driver's side.

Stop before you reach the bus and leave plenty of room. Children may cross in front of the bus, where the driver sees them but you may not.

Do I have to stop on my side of the road?

• Two-lane road: everyone stops, both directions.
• Multi-lane road with no physical median: rules differ. Oregon treats a painted median or center turn lane as undivided, so all lanes stop. California says you do not need to stop if the bus is on the other side of a divided or multilane highway (two or more lanes each way). Check your state manual.
• Divided highway with a raised median, unpaved strip or barrier: traffic behind the bus stops; traffic on the far side usually does not. Some states set different rules, so check your manual.

After the bus moves on

Wait until the red lights stop flashing and the stop arm folds back. Then move off slowly and look again for children who may still be near the road. Be extra careful near bus stops in the morning and mid-afternoon, and in neighborhoods where children wait at the curb.

Common mistakes

• Speeding up on yellow lights to get past the bus. Yellow means prepare to stop.
• Assuming a center turn lane counts as a divider. In states such as Oregon a painted median does not separate the road, so learn your own state's rule.
• Moving off as soon as the doors close. Wait until the red lights go off.
• Stopping too close to the bus. Leave room so children crossing are visible.
• Passing a stopped bus on the right. This is the side children get on and off.

Test yourself: School buses

Answer each question, then read the explanation. Questions come in a random order each time.

Go deeper

• North Carolina School Bus Stopping Law
• When Do You Have to Stop for a School Bus? US Laws Explained