SCHOOL BUS SAFETY

  School buses are responsible for carrying precious cargo – children. Every school year, children across the United States are injured and killed at bus stops, or when getting on/off the getting on or off school buses. Student fatalities most often occur as a result bus. From 1988 through 1998, an average of 31 pedestrians were killed each year while of being hit by the school bus or by on coming traffic.

  Too often people have forgotten the laws and restrictions that govern a driver’s actions around a stopped school bus.

 

   When traveling on a divided highway having four or more lanes with a median separating the traffic, it is only necessary for the vehicles behind the school bus to stop and not the traffic travelling in the opposite direction (Example 1).

 

 

  When travelling on a two-lane roadway, traffic travelling in both directions is required to stop (Example 2.)

 

 

  Similarly, when travelling on a four-lane roadway without a median, traffic travelling in both directions is required to stop (Example 3).

 

  When traveling on a highway having four or more lanes and having a center turn lane, it is only required for the vehicles in both lanes behind the school bus to come to a complete stop. Vehicles travelling in the opposite direction are not legally required to stop (Example 4).
 
  It is important to note that although you may not be required by law to stop when you see a stopped school bus, you should be aware that students will be getting on and off the bus. Children are unpredictable and could run into the road at any time. Use caution as you are driving around school buses and adjust your speed accordingly.

  And remember, a conviction for passing a school bus illegally usually means a 90% increase in insurance rates.

 

 

 

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