It’s that time of year, back to school.  That means school busses are out picking up kids.  Between 2007 and 2016, the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration found 1,147 fatal motor vehicle crashes concerning school transportation.  While that number averages to 114 per year.  And those are only the fatal crashes.   While this is still a minor percentage, whenever the safety of a child is at risk, the outcomes can be devastating to the family and the school.

There are safety rules when school busses are operating on the streets.  These rules are meant to keep kids safe while entering and exiting the bus, and to prevent these types of collisions.  Busses are equipped with safety warning lights as well as stop signs to signify when a vehicle on the roadway must stop, when the lights and sign are engaged.  This article will briefly go through the rules for traffic safety for vehicles on the road with a bus.

First, on a two-lane road, cars and other vehicles traveling behind a school bus must stop when the hazard lights and stop sign are activated.  If the school bus stops, those cars must stop.  Cars also traveling on the opposite side of a bus must stop when the lights and sign are activated.

Perhaps more difficult to determine is for vehicles on a four-lane road, with two lanes in each direction.  In this case, only vehicles operating behind the bus must stop.  Cars and other vehicles approaching a bus from the opposite direction are not required to stop when the lights and stop sign on a school bus are engaged.

Wide turns can also cause crashes between school busses and other vehicles.  It is important to note that busses make wide turns, and vehicles at intersections where a bus may be making a right turn should allow plenty of room for a bus to turn.  If it is not safe to do so, the bus should refrain from attempting to right turns.

Never attempt to pass a school bus while it is attempting to load and unload children.

Otherwise, school bus drivers are required to follow all other rules of the road applicable to motor vehicles on the road.  Be safe out there and protect our children.