Can You Pass a School Bus with Flashing Yellow Lights?
What the Yellow Lights Mean
Yellow, or amber, lights mean caution.
When amber lights begin flashing on top of a school bus, they indicate that the bus is slowing down and preparing to stop.
If you see the lights flashing on the school bus, you must proceed cautiously and watch for children by the side of the road. Remember, children are often unpredictable and may not see you coming. They could run into the road at any time.
Passing the bus when the yellow lights are flashing is strongly discouraged. If you have already started to overtake the bus, remember that your view to the sides is limited. Children may attempt to cross the road close to the bus.
Stay alert if you have already started to pass.
Some states require you to slow down when passing or overtaking the bus. In South Dakota and Iowa, you may not exceed 20 mph in this situation. Utah law says you “shall slow the vehicle, but may proceed past the school bus using due care and caution at speed not greater than specified for school zones for the safety of the school children that may be in the vicinity.”
South Carolina does not Allow Passing
Other states may prohibit passing the bus also when yellow lights are flashing.
In South Carolina, for example, you must always stop when overtaking a school bus with flashing red or amber lights.
When the School Bus Stops
The flashing red lights come on when the school bus stops, and the arm with a stop sign is extended. As soon as the red lights flash, you must stop.
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Illustration credit: Anton Novikov
I stopped when I saw the School bus stop and turned on the red light. I was waiting for about twenty seconds and the yellow light was still flashing but there was nothing happening it seemed. I was stopped about 50 feet in front of the bus. I proceeded forward carefully thinking the bus had stopped because of some mechanical problem. As soon as I got to the front bumper of the bus the arms swung out with the red lights. There was nothing I could do at that point. I got the ticket two weeks later. It looked like a deliberate attempt to entrap drivers in Sufflk county NY. In 8 months this county has raked in 12m in camera fines. This looks like a scam.
Continuing at low speed and not being able to stop when you reached the front bumper?
Yellow lights are flashing and bus is stopped as it is parked on roadway in front of school. Must be waiting for kids to board but nobody is boarding. You would think stop lights and flashers would be going. What is happening? I stopped for a moment and looked. Do I remain stopped and get rear-ended on roadway or do I proceed slowly around bus from behind with caution. Please advise. It is confusing. The bus is parked on the main roadway-NOT in a school driveway. Why didn’t the bus driver have on flashers or stop sign if he IS stopped to avoid confusing drivers. We don’t mind stopping if you give us adequate warning.
A school bus driver is just a driver. Meaning, they also make mistakes.
If the bus is stopped to let children on or off, flashing red lights and a stop arm must be used.
After letting children on or off, the bus driver must turn off all flashing warning lamps.
In this case, I guess the driver thought I was a good idea to keep amber lights flashing. A warning to let other drives know that the bus is waiting for children.
In my opinion, it is not a good idea. It is, as you said, confusing.
Can you pass in this situation?
Iowa law:
The driver of a vehicle, including the driver of a vehicle operating on a private road or driveway, when meeting a school bus with flashing amber warning lamps shall reduce the vehicle’s speed to not more than twenty miles per hour, and shall bring the vehicle to a complete stop when the school bus stops, and the stop signal arm is extended. The vehicle shall remain stopped until the stop signal arm is retracted after which time the driver may proceed with due caution.
1. Does not yellow indicate caution when driving and with other activities. Caution does not indicate one needs to stop. However, with school buses it indicates the action of stopping and stopped until the service door is opened.
2. The red school bus lights and the stop arm do not extend until the service door is opened by the driver. The bus could be stopped for a period of time without the service door be opened.
3. In years past did not the bus driver initiate the red lights and stop arm several hundred feet prior to being stopped and thus informing nearby drivers that the bus was stopping or stopped.
4. I think the present arrangement can cause nearby drivers to not realized the bus is actually stopping or being required to be stopped at the moment the service door is opened for a rider.
1. Yes. A requirement to come to an immediate stop at this point is, however, not the general rule. Yellow (or amber) lights still means caution. The school bus driver activates flashing yellow lights to indicate the school bus is preparing to stop to load or unload students. While wording of the law varies from State to State, motorists should slow down and prepare to stop at this point. The problem here, of course, is that some drivers ignore the warning, speed up and try to beat the red lights.
2. Yes, during which yellow lights still flash. The yellow lights go straight to red when the bus has stopped, and the door opens. At this point, motorists behind the bus or traveling from the opposite direction on an undivided highway (the rule varies a bit) must stop.
3. When manually operated, yes, I think red lights went on before the bus had stopped.
4. You are not alone. Many proposals has been made to change it. Personally, I don’t think the arrangement is the problem. Some drivers simply ignore both the amber warning lights and the flashing red stop lights. Different arrangement won’t make a huge difference. But it’s an opinion.
The use of two different colors, yellow as a warning, red as a stop or prohibition is considered by NHTSA to be a better solution than the old one.
Does this apply in NY as well?
NY code requires you to stop for a school bus has that has “stopped to receive or discharge any passengers” and “when there is in operation on said school bus a red visual signal”.
It does not mention amber lights.
It’s tru.. there have beeen moments that school busses suddenly go from amber to complete red in less than five seconds giving u barely enough time to properly comply.
I was moving down folsom one afternoon and I was in the center lane when I spotted a school bus to my right and saw the red light come on, I tried to stop only to have 3 cars honked madeley at me and one motorcycle cursed me out…either they did not see the school bus or thought to pass anyway as I believe we were even with the school bus when I saw him…I found I had to keep moving, as cars behind me who were traveling at 45 too might have hit me. When I looked in my rear view other cars were stopping.