Here is Every State’s Exceptions for Passing a Stopped School Bus
Find out your local laws for when you must stop for a school bus. And the surprising instances when you can keep driving.
Every state in the U.S. requires that when a school bus driving in front of you stops to load or unload students, you do not pass it. This makes good safety sense, as these passengers could be crossing the street, unaware of surrounding traffic. But there’s a lot of variety in the letter of these school bus laws. Some states require you to stop a certain distance from the bus, and many have specially worded exceptions for certain multi-lane roads.
Unique school bus laws
Many states have unique school bus laws. Some of these may even be difficult to enforce. For example, if you are driving behind a school bus in Nebraska and it stops for passengers, you are legally obligated to stop “a reasonable distance” away from it.
Most states do not require you to stop if a school bus has stopped for passengers on the opposite side of a divided highway. The logic here is that the bus driver wouldn’t expect their passengers to cross multiple lanes of traffic to board the bus or get home. Instead, the route would include some sort of u-turn to pick the students up on the correct side of the road.
But school bus laws in the state of New York State that all traffic–in both directions–must stop for a stopped school bus, no matter the size of the road. So if you are driving through New York, don’t be surprised if a driver in front of you slams on the brakes when a bus stops on the opposite side of the road.
Can you get in trouble for breaking local school bus laws?
Many states have stiff penalties for driving unsafely around a school bus–ranging from extra points on your license to high fines.
In certain places, states specify that the school bus always has the right of way. So if you see a school bus trying to merge with traffic, get out of the way. Other states even say a school bus driver can call in your plate, and the police don’t need to investigate further before ticketing you.
Legally and safety-wise, it is probably best to err on the side of caution around a school bus.
The school bus laws by state
Here are the laws for driving near school buses in every state, courtesy of Drive-Safely.net. If we missed a law, let us know in the comments below.
| State | School Bus Passing Law |
| Alabama | Stop 20 feet from any school bus with red flashing lights. Buses will use flashing amber lights 300 feet before a rural stop, 100 feet before a stop in a municipality. |
| Alaska | Do not pass a school bus with red flashing lights unless on the other side of a separated roadway with two or more lanes in each direction. |
| Arizona | Stop for any school bus picking up or dropping off passengers unless on the opposite side of a divided roadway (lanes separated by a physical barrier). |
| Arkansas | Do not pass a school bus with red flashing lights unless on the other side of a separated roadway with two or more lanes in each direction and a 20+ foot median. Do not drive through an intersection where school bus has stopped to pickup or discharge passengers. |
| California | Stop until a school bus’ red flashing lights are off and any children present have finished crossing the road. Do not need to stop for a bus on the other side of a divided or multilane highway (two+ lanes in each direction). |
| Colorado | Stop 20 feet from any school bus with red flashing lights (whether in your lane, the opposite lane, or an intersection). Exception: the bus is on the opposite side of a divided roadway (lanes separated by a physical barrier or median). |
| Connecticut | Stop for a school bus (whether in your lane, the opposite lane, or an intersection) and remain stopped until the red flashing lights are off and any children present have completely left the roadway. Exception: a bus on the other side of a road separated by a median or other physical barrier. |
| Delaware | Do not pass a school bus with red flashing lights unless on the other side of a roadway with four or more lanes. |
| District of Columbia | Stop 15 feet from any school bus with red flashing lights unless on the opposite side of a divided road’s median. |
| Florida | Stop for a school bus displaying a stop sign until the sign is withdrawn and all children are clear of the roadway. Exception: opposite side of a highway divided by a raised barrier or divided by a 5-foot-wide unpaved median. |
| Georgia | Stop for a school bus displaying red lights and/or a stop sign until all children are clear of the roadway and warning signals are off. Exception: opposite side of a highway separated by median strips. |
| Hawaii | Stop for a school bus until its red flashing lamps are off and all children are clear of the roadway. Exception: opposite side of a highway divided by a strip of land or other space not intended for vehicular travel. |
| Idaho | Stop for a school bus loading or unloading students until the bus is moving again and all students are clear of the roadway. Exception: highway with two or more lanes in each direction. |
| Illinois | Stop for a school bus unless on the opposite side of a four-lane roadway. |
| Indiana | Stop for a school bus with flashing red lights. Exception: traveling in the opposite direction on a roadway divided by a barrier or unimproved median. |
| Iowa | When you encounter a school bus with amber flashing lights you must slow to 20 mph. When it uses its red flashing lights, you must stop at least 15 feet away. You do not need to stop when the bus is traveling the opposite way of a road with two or more lanes in each direction. |
| Kansas | Stop for any bus (school, church, or daycare) that is taking on or dropping off children. Wait until all children are clear of the roadway and warning signals are off. Exception: opposite side of a roadway separated by a median or other physical barrier. This does not include roads with passing or turning lanes. |
| Kentucky | Stop for any bus (school, church, or daycare) that is taking on or dropping off children. Wait until all children are clear of the roadway and the bus is moving. Exception: opposite side of a four lane roadway. |
| Louisiana | Stop 30 feet from any school bus with red flashing lights. Wait until it begins to move again. Buses will use flashing amber lights 100-500 feet before a stop. Exception: you don’t have to stop for a bus on the opposite side of a four or more lane roadway when separated by a ditch, grassy median, elevated concrete barrier, or other impassable divider. |
| Maine | Stop for school bus with red flashing lights on an undivided road or in a parking area. Wait until the bus has begun to drive again before moving. |
| Maryland | Stop 20 feet from a school vehicle with red flashing lights. Wait until it begins to move again. Buses will use flashing amber lights 100-500 feet before a stop. Exception: school buses on the opposite side of a four or more lane highway divided by a median separation. |
| Massachusetts | Stop for any school bus with a fold-out stop sign or red flashing lights deployed, unless on the opposite sides of a highway divided by a barrier. |
| Michigan | Stop for any school bus that has deployed a fold-out stop sign or red flashing lights because it is picking up or dropping off passengers. Exception: buses on the opposite side of a highway divided by a structure traffic cannot navigate (grass mdeian, concrete barrier, island, etc.) |
| Minnesota | Stop for any school bus while it has its red lights flashing or “stop” sign extended. Buses will use flashing amber lights 100-300 feet before a stop. |
| Mississippi | Stop for any school bus loading or unloading children until all the children are out of the roadway. Exception: Opposite side of a highway with four or more lanes or a controlled-access highway. |
| Missouri | Must stop for a stopped school bus until the bus begins to move again. Bus drivers will use amber lights 500 feet before a stop and will not drop off or pick up students on a four-lane road in a way that forces them to cross two or more lanes of traffic. |
| Montana | Must stop 30 feet from a stopped school bus until its red lights turn off. Exception: a school bus stopped on a different road or in a loading zone where pedestrians cannot cross the street. |
| Nebraska | Slow to 25 MPH when a school bus has flashing amber lights, stop a reasonable distance away when it has red lights, or a folding stop sign deployed. Exception: opposite side of a roadway divided by a median. |
| Nevada | Stop for a school bus loading or unloading students until the driver has shut off its red flashing lights. Exception: traveling the opposite direction from the school bus on a divided highway. |
| New Hampshire | Stop 25 feet away from a school bus loading or unloading passengers. Wait until the bus has begun moving or shut off its flashing lights to resume driving. Exception: on the other side of a divide highway. |
| New Jersey | Stop at least 25 feet away from a parked school bus or a school bus using its red flashing lights. Slow to 10 mph when on the opposite side of a dual-lane highway (with a safety island or other raised median) from a stopped school bus. |
| New Mexico | Stop for a stopped school bus until all children present have left the roadway. Exception: The opposite side of a roadway divided by a median or other physical barrier. |
| New York | You must stop 20 feet away from a stopped school bus, even if it is on the other side of a divided highway. Wait until the bus’ red lights stop flashing to proceed. |
| North Carolina | Stop for a stopped school bus with red flashing lights and/or a physical sign. Exception: driving the opposite way on a roadway with four or more lanes split by a physical median or a turning lane. |
| North Dakota | Must stop for a stopped school bus (when traveling on the same road in either direction). Wait for the red flashing lights to go off or the bus to begin moving. |
| Ohio | Stop at least 10 feet from any stopped school bus. Exception: driving the opposite way on a road four or more lanes wide. |
| Oklahoma | Stop for a stopped school bus and wait until its red lights stop flashing or it begins moving again. Exception: a bus on a different roadway or in a designated loading zone where pedestrians cannot cross the street. |
| Oregon | Stop for a stopped school bus and wait until its red lights stop flashing or it begins moving again. Exception: a bus traveling on the opposite side of an unpaved median strip or other physical barrier (not a painted lane or turning lane). |
| Pennsylvania | Stop at least 10 feet away from a stopped school bus or a school bus in the same road or intersection. Exception: when the bus is on the opposite side of a highway divided with a physical barrier (concrete/metal barrier, guide rails or trees/rocks/streams/grass median), you can slow down and continue driving. |
| Rhode Island | Must stop for a stopped school bus for the entire time its red lights are flashing. Exception: a physically divided roadway (Jersey barrier, grass, guardrail, trees, water, etc.) or a bus in a designated loading zone. |
| South Carolina | Must stop for a stopped school bus until its red lights have stopped flashing. Exception: any road with at least two lanes of traffic moving in each direction (four or more lanes total), or a loading zone off the travel portion of the highway where pedestrians cannot cross the street. |
| South Dakota | When a school bus uses flashing amber lights, slow to 20 mph. When it uses flashing red lights, stop completely. Exception: the opposite side of a highway with two or more lanes of traffic in each direction (four or more total). |
| Tennessee | Slow down when a school bus uses amber lights. Stop when a school bus uses red flashing lights until the bus begins to move again. Stop for a bus in the same intersection or on the same roadway unless it is a roadway divided by an impassable physical barrier (but not by a turning/passing lane). |
| Texas | School buses always have the right of way. You must stop for a school bus with red flashing lights. Exception: driving the opposite way on a controlled access highway or the same way as a bus that has pulled off the road and into a loading zone where pedestrians cannot cross the street. |
| Utah | Stop when a school bus uses red flashing lights until the bus begins to move again. Exception: driving in the opposite direction on a roadway divided by an impassable physical barrier (but not by a turning/passing lane), or a four or more lane road with a center turning lane (fifth lane). |
| Vermont | Stop for any school bus with red flashing warning lights, whether on a road or in a parking lot. Exception: traveling in the opposite direction on a divided highway or when the bus is separated from traffic with a concrete barrier. |
| Virginia | Stop for a stopped school bus in a road, intersection, or driveway. Do not continue until all persons are clear of the roadway. Exception: driving the opposite way on a road with a median or other barrier. |
| Washington | School buses have the right of way when merging back onto a road and you must yield to them. You must stop for any school bus with red flashing lights on a road or in your intersection. Exception: a roadway divided by a median or other physical barrier or a roadway that has three or more marked traffic lanes. |
| West Virginia | Stop for any school bus with red lights flashing and/or loading or unloading students. This rule applies n private property such as school parking lots as well. Exception: a school bus traveling the opposite way on an Interstate Highway. |
| Wisconsin | Stop 20 feet away from a school bus with red flashing lights, whether on a road or in an intersection. Exception: driving in the opposite direction on a divided highway. |
| Wyoming | Must stop for a school bus with red flashing lights. Exception: on the opposite side of a roadway divided by a physical barrier. |
