When Should You Stop for a School Bus?
Photo: Holly Chaffin
It’s 3:30 p.m. on a Tuesday, school buses are caravanning through the streets, dropping kids off in front of their homes. With a bus full of kids, school buses make a lot of stops. We all know we’re supposed to stop to let kids cross the street, but are we supposed to stop on the opposite side of the road too? What about if there’s a median? Here are a few of the regulations regarding school buses on the roadways.
Same Side of the Road
If you are on the same side of the road as a school bus, following behind it, you need to stop when it does. Do not pass the school bus; kids are likely to step out—crossing the street—and you could accidentally hit one of them.
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Opposite Side of the Road (Without Median)
If you are driving and see a school bus stopped on the opposite side of the road, and there is no median, you need to stop. Kids are likely to cross the street and they will have the right of way.
Opposite Side of the Road (Two Lanes, with Median)
If there is a median separating you from the school bus, you do not need to stop. But if you are traveling in the same direction as a bus, you need to stop, even if there is a median.
Three or more lanes
If you are traveling on a road with three or more lanes, you only need to stop if you are traveling in the same direction as the school bus, regardless of whether or not there is a median.
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When in doubt, slow down or stop for a school bus. You’re better off pulling over to a stop than injuring a young child crossing the street.
Sources: The Seattle Times
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