Sharing the road safely with school buses
The reality of school bus safety is that more children are hurt outside the bus than inside as passengers. Most of the children who lose their lives in bus-related crashes are pedestrians, four to seven years old, who are hit by the bus or
by motorists illegally passing a stopped school bus. For this reason, it is necessary to know the proper laws and
procedures for sharing the road safely with school buses:
All 50 states have a law making it illegal to pass a school bus that is stopped to load or unload children.
School buses use yellow flashing lights to alert motorists that they are preparing to stop to load or unload children.
Red flashing lights and an extended stop sign arm signals to motorists that the bus is stopped and children are getting
on or off the bus.
All 50 states require that traffic in both directions stop on undivided roadways when students are entering or exiting
a school bus.
While state laws vary on what is required on a divided roadway, in all cases, traffic behind the school bus
(traveling in the same direction) must stop.
The area 10 feet around a school bus is where children are in the most danger of being hit. Stop your car far
enough from the bus to allow children the necessary space to safely enter and exit the bus.
Be alert. Children are unpredictable. Children walking to or from their bus are usually very comfortable with their
surroundings. This makes them more likely to take risks, ignore hazards or fail to look both ways when crossing the
street.
Never pass a school bus on the right. It is illegal and could have tragic consequences.
For more information on reducing risk or any of our other services, please contact Jeff Harrison at jeff.harrison@cbservices.org or 800.807.0300 ext 2543.
Information and recommendations are compiled from sources believed to be reliable. The National Safety Council makes no guarantee as to and assumes no responsibility for the correctness, sufficiency or completeness of such information or recommendations. Other or additional safety
measures may be required under particular circumstances