Now that school is back in session, our morning commutes are once again impeded by school buses full of children on their way to be filled with knowledge. Getting caught behind a school bus that stops frequently and drives slowly can be a pain, but it's important to remember that the laws were created this way in order to keep kids safe.
Everyone can use a refresher on school bus laws from time to time - it can be hard to keep track of the details if it's been a while since your permit test. And unfortunately, children are injured or killed every single year by motorists who do not obey school bus laws. At Rafferty Subaru, we want to make sure our community's children stay safe, so we've put together a list of school bus rules as a kind of refresher course (both for ourselves and for anyone else who might need one). These are the rules according to PennDOT:
- If you meet a stopped school bus with red signal lights flashing and stop arm extended, you must stop.
- When you approach an intersection from any direction where a school bus is stopped with red signal lights flashing and stop arm extended, you must stop.
- You are supposed to stop at least 10 feet away from the school bus.
- It is okay to start moving again only when the red flashing lights have stopped and the stop arm has retracted.
- The school bus should not stop its flashing lights or retract its stop arm until all children have reached a place of safety. If the school bus does not wait, you should remain stopped until all children have cleared the road.
- You must stop for a school bus even if you are driving on the opposite side of the yellow painted lines. The only time you do not need to stop is if there is a physical dividing barrier in the road, like a guard rail or a large grass median.
- When in doubt, STOP! It is always better to play it safe.
Every day in Pennsylvania, 1.5 million children are transported via school bus. And over the course of the school year, Pennsylvania school buses will cover about 400 million miles. That means there is a lot of room for things to go wrong if we are not careful when driving near school buses.
Aside from the obvious, some consequences for not obeying school bus laws are as follows:
- a 60-day driver's license suspension
- 5 points on your driving record (note: 6 points total on your license will lead to further penalties)
- a $250 fine
For everyone's sake, it's important that we all remain patient and careful around school buses. You can find more information on this fact sheet from PennDOT.
