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Stop for the Bus. Our Kids Are Worth the Wait

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Stop for the BusMost states follow the Uniform Vehicle Code guidance on stopping for a school bus.  The table below indicates if UVC section 11-705 (a) and/or (c) are reflective of the law in your state and also provides other information on state specific requirements.

Section 11-705 (a)
The driver of a vehicle meeting or overtaking from either direction any school bus that meets the color and identification requirements of 12-222(a), (b) and (c)** of this code stopped on the highway shall stop before reaching such school bus when there is in operation on said school bus the flashing red lights specified in 12-222(a) and said driver shall not proceed until such school bus resumes motion or the flashing red lights are no longer actuated.

Section 11-705 (c)
The driver of a vehicle upon a highway with separate roadways need not stop upon meeting or passing a school bus which is on a different roadway or when upon a controlled-access highway and the school bus is stopped in a loading zone which is a part of or adjacent to such highway and where pedestrians are not permitted to cross the roadway.  (Some states have an exemption for the loading zone.  See comments below.)

 

** Painted school bus yellow, the words "School Bus" above the front window and signal lights on front and rear of bus.

Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware
Florida | Georgia |Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa |Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana
Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri
Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York 
North Carolina North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania
Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont
Virginia | Washington West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming
Washington DC | Virgin Islands | Guam

State

(a)

(c)

 Additional information

Alabama

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1) All stop laws apply to church buses. 
2) Section C loading zone exemption applies.
Alaska checkmark

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 1) Speed limit is 20 mph if passing a bus with flashing yellow lights.
2) Vehicles must stop ≥ 30 feet.
Arizona  checkmark  checkmark 1) A lane or a group of lanes on either side of a 2-way left turn lane is not considered a separate roadway.
Arkansas     1) Drivers must stop fully before proceeding. 
2) Driver may not start up or attempt to pass in any direction until the school bus is in motion again.
3) All stop laws apply to church buses.
4) Drivers need not stop if approaching a bus on the opposite side of a parkway or dividing strip of ≥ 20 feet in width on multiple lane highways.
California  checkmark   1) A vehicle driver on a divided highway or multiple-lane highway need not stop upon meeting or passing a schoolbus on the other roadway. A multiple-lane highway is any highway that has ≥ 2 lanes of travel in each direction.
2) Stop law also applies on private property
Colorado  checkmark  checkmark 1)Section C loading zone exemption applies.
Connecticut  checkmark  checkmark

1) Vehicles must stop ≥ 10 feet.
2) Section C loading zone exemption applies.
Delaware  checkmark   1) On roadway(s) with more than 4 lanes the driver approaching from the front shall not stop. 
Florida  checkmark   1) A vehicle driver upon a divided highway with an unpaved space of ≥ 5 feet (1.5 m), a raised median, or a physical barrier need not stop when traveling in the opposite direction of a stopped school bus.
Georgia  checkmark checkmark   
Hawaii  checkmark  checkmark 1) Vehicles must stop  ≥ 20 feet.
2) Section C loading zone exemption applies.
Idaho  checkmark   1) Oncoming traffic on a highway of > 3 lanes need not stop upon meeting a stopped school bus. 
Illinois  checkmark  checkmark 1) Stop law applies on school property and private roads.
2) A driver upon a highway having ≥ 4 lanes which permits ≥ 2 lanes of traffice to travel in opposite directions need not stop upon meeting a school bus stopped in the opposing roadway.
Indiana  checkmark  checkmark 1) Section C loading zone exemption applies.
Iowa  checkmark   1) Stop law applies on a private road.
2) Drivers must slow to 20 mph when a bus is flashing amber lights.
3) Vehicles must stop ≥ 15 feet.
Kansas  checkmark  checkmark  
Kentucky     1) If a school or church bus transporting children is stopped on a highway to get on or off passengers while flashing red lights and using the stop arm, a vehicle operator approaching from any direction must stop and not proceed until the bus has completed getting on or off passengers and has been put in motion.
2) Vehicles approaching a stopped bus from the opposite direction upon a highway of ≥ 4 lanes need not stop.
Louisiana  checkmark  checkmark 1) Vehicles must stop ≥ 30 feet.
Maine  checkmark  checkmark 1) Stop law applies in a parking area and on school property.
2) Vehicles may not move until bus resumes motion or if signaled by the driver.
Maryland  checkmark  checkmark

1) Vehicles must stop ≥ 20 feet.
2) Section C loading zone exemption applies.
Massachusetts     1) A motor vehicle or trackless trolly operator approaching a stopped school bus must stop and not proceed until the flashing red lights are deactivated, unless directed to the contrary by a police officer duly authorized to control the movement of traffic.
2) Traffic approaching from the opposite direction on a divided highway need not stop.
Michigan  checkmark   1) Vehicles must stop ≥ 20 feet.
2) A vehicle driver upon a highway divided into 2 roadways by leaving an intervening space, or by a physical barrier, or clearly indicated dividing sections so constructed as to impede vehicular traffic, need not stop upon meeting a school bus.
Minnesota     1) A vehicle driver approaching a school bus stopped on a street or highway or other signed location, and flashing red lights and using a stop arm, must stop ≥ 20 feet away.  The driver may not proceed until the stop arm is retracted and the red lights no longer flash.
2) A vehicle driver on a street or highway with separated roadways (a road that is separated from a parallel road by a safety isle or a safety zone) need not stop when approaching or meeting a school bus on a different roadway.
Mississippi     1) A vehicle driver meeting or overtaking a school bus stopped on the street or highway to get on or off any school children shall stop and not proceed until the children have crossed the street or highway and the school bus has proceeded in the direction it was going.
Missouri  checkmark  checkmark 1) A vehicle driver upon a highway with separate roadways need not stop for a school bus proceeding in the opposite directino on a highway containing ≥ 4 lanes of traffic.
Montana  checkmark  checkmark 1) Vehicle must stop ≥ 10 feet.
Nebraska    checkmark 1) Upon meeting or overtaking a school bus flashing the stop warning signal lisghts, a motor vehicle driver must slow to 25 miles per hour and stop when the stop arm is extended, and not proceed until the stop arm is retracted and the school bus resumes motion or until signaled by the bus driver to stop.
2) Stopping requirement does not apply to approaching traffic in the opposite direction of a divided highway or to approaching traffic when there is displayed a school bus loading zone warning sign directing traffic to proceed.
Nevada  checkmark  checkmark 1) Section C loading zone exemption applies.
New Hampshire    checkmark 1) A vehicle driver must stop for a stopped school bus getting on or off school children ≥ 25 feet away and not proceed until such school bus resumes motion, or until flashing red lights cease to operate.
New Jersey     1) A vehicle driver must stop for a stopped school bus getting on or off any child ≥ 25 feet away and not proceed until such child has entered the bus or has alighted and reached the side of such highway and until a flashing red light is no longer exhibited.
2) On highways with separate roadways separated by safety islands or physical traffic separation installations, a vehicle driver on another roadway approaching a stopped school bus getting on or off any child, must slow to 10 miles per hour and not resume normal speed until the vehicle has passed the bus and any child who may have alighted therefrom or be about to enter said bus.
3) Whenever a school bus is parked at the curb to receive children directly from, or to discharge them to enter, a school, a summer day camp, or any school connected activity, located on the same side of the street where the bus is parked, vehicle drivers may pass the bus no faster than 10 miles per hour
New Mexico  checkmark  checkmark 1) Vehicle must stop ≥ 10 feet.
New York     1) A vehicle driver on the public highway (§134)(also any area used for motor vehicle parking or used as a driveway located on the grounds of a school or of a board of cooperative educational services facility or any area used as a means of access to and egress from such school or facility), street or private road meeting or overtaking from either direction a school bus flashing red lights, and stopped to get on or off any passengers, or stopped because a school bus in front of it has stopped to get on or off any passengers, must stop and not proceed until such school bus resumes motion, or until signaled by the driver or a police officer to proceed.
North Carolina     1) A vehicle driver approaching from any direction on the same street, highway, or public vehicular area any school bus (including privately owned buses transporting children and school buses transporting senior citizens under §115C-243) must stop while the bus is displaying its mechanical stop signal or flashing red stoplights, and is stopped to get on or off passengers, and not proceed until the mechanical stop signal has been withdrawn, the flashing red stoplights have been turned off, and the bus has moved on.
2) A vehicle driver traveling in the opposite direction from the school bus, upon a road divided into 2 roadways by an intervening space (including a center lane for left turns if the roadway consists of ≥ 4 more lanes) or by a physical barrier, need not stop upon meeting and passing any school bus which has stopped in the roadway across such dividing space or physical barrier.
North Dakota  checkmark  checkmark  
Ohio     1) A vehicle, streetcar, or trackless trolley driver meeting or overtaking from either direction any school bus stopped to get on or off any school child, person attending programs offered by community boards of mental health and county boards of mental retardation and developmental disabilities, or child attending a program offered by a head start agency
2) Vehicle must stop ≥ 10 feet.
3) A vehicle, streetcar, or trackless trolley driver on a highway divided into ≥ 4 traffic lanes need not stop for a school bus approaching from the opposite direction and stopped to get on or off passengers.
Oklahoma  checkmark  checkmark  
Oregon    

1) A driver meeting or overtaking from either direction any vehicle (including a school bus or a worker transport bus) stopped on a roadway and operating red bus safety lights must stop and not proceed until the lights go off.
2) A driver need not comply with this section if the vehicle operating red bus safety lights is stopped on a different roadway.
Pennsylvania  checkmark  checkmark 1) Vehicle must stop ≥ 10 feet.
2) Section C loading zone exemption applies.
Rhode Island  checkmark  checkmark 1) Stop law applies to private roads and parkings areas.
2) No vehicle, except emergency vehicles, may travel in the same lane of traffice behind a school bus at a distance of < 50 feet.
South Carolina  checkmark   1) Drivers must stop on 2-lane highways and 4-lane/multiple-laned highways where opposing traffic is separated only by painted lines or a narrow gravel median.
2) Drivers need not stop when the bus is in a passenger loading zone completely off the main travel lanes and when pedestrians are not allowed to cross the roadway, or on highways where the roadways are separated by an earth or raised concrete median.
South Dakota    checkmark

1) A motor vehicle operator on a 2-lane highway or a private road meeting or overtaking a school bus flashing amber lights is limited to 20 miles per hour. A motor vehicle operator meeting or overtaking a school bus flashing red lights must stop ≥ 15 feet away and not proceed until red lights stop flashing.
2) A motor vehicle operator on a highway providing ≥ 2 lanes in each direction need not stop when meeting a school bus traveling in the opposite direction.
3) Section C loading zone exemption applies.
Tennessee    checkmark 1) A vehicle driver meeting or overtaking from either direction any school bus, church bus or youth bus stopped on the highway to get on or off any school children or passengers must stop and not proceed until such bus resumes motion or is signaled by the driver of the bus to proceed or the visual signals on the bus are no longer actuated. This provision also applies to a school bus flashing lights, using stop arm, and stopped upon property owned, operated, or used by a school or educational institution, if getting on or off any school children outside a protected loading zone.
2) Applies to church or youth buses that have the same type of safety equipment as school buses.
Texas  checkmark  checkmark 1) A highway is divided only if the highways has roadways separated by an intervening space not permitting operation of vehicles, a phsyical barrier or a clearly indicated dividing section.  This does not include a left turn lane.
Utah  checkmark  

1) Vehicles must slow to 20 miles per hour when bus is flashing amber lights.
2) A vehicle operator need not stop upon meeting or passing a school bus when traveling on a divided highway; when bus is stopped at an intersection or other place controlled by a traffic-control signal or peace officer; or upon a highway of ≥ 5 lanes which may include a left-turn lane or 2-way left turn lane.
Vermont  checkmark  checkmark  
Virginia     1) Drivers must stop, when approaching from any direction, any school bus stopped on any highway or school driveway to take on or discharge children, the elderly, or mentally or physically handicapped persons, and to remain stopped until all such persons are clear of the highway or school driveway and the bus is put in motion.
2) A vehicle driver need not stop when approaching a school bus that is stopped on the other roadway of a divided highway, on an access road, or on a driveway when such is separated from the roadway on which he is driving by a physical barrier or an unpaved area, or loading or discharging passengers from or onto property immediately adjacent to a school if such driver is directed by a law-enforcement officer or other duly authorized uniformed school crossing guard to pass such school bus.
Washington  checkmark   1) A vehicle driver need not stop upon meeting a school bus or private carrier bus proceeding in the opposite direction and stopped to get on or off school children or passengers upon a highway divided into separate roadways or with ≥ 3 marked traffic lanes.
West Virginia  checkmark  checkmark 1) Stop law also applies to passenger vans where an adult is outside the van with a red caution flag.
Wisconsin  checkmark   1) Vehicles overtaking a bus at an intersection in a business or residence district where red lights may not flash shall pass at a safe distance to the left of the bus and not turn right in front of it at that intersection.
2) Vehicle operators proceeding in the opposite direction on a divided highway need not stop for stopped school buses.
Wyoming  checkmark checkmark   
DC     1) When approaching from any direction a stopped school bus flashing red lights, a vehicle driver must stop ≥ 15 feet away and not proceed until the lights are off.
2) When approaching a stopped school bus flashing red lights from the opposite direction on a street with a median strip divider, a vehicle driver shall not stop. 
Guam     1) A vehicle driver, approaching upon any highway from either direction any school bus stopped to get on or off any passengers, must stop and not proceed until all passengers have gotten on or off the bus and have reached a position of safety.
Virgin Islands     1) A vehicle operator must stop ≥ 10 feet (3 m) when approaching from the front or overtaking any bus flashing signal lights except at the specific direction of a traffic officer, and not proceed until the bus stops flashing signal lights. At the intersection of ≥ 2 roadways, turning in the direction of a bus getting on or off passengers is prohibited. The word "bus" hereby means any school bus or bus clearly marked "Senior Citizens" or "Disabled Persons" with signal lights to signal a stop by flashing.
2) A vehicle operator upon a highway with separate roadways need not stop upon meeting or passing a bus on a different roadway.

 

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