Overtaking and Passing a School Bus

School Bus Questions on the DMV Test

Children are at risk every school day when approaching or leaving a school bus. It’s vital for all drivers, parents, and students to be aware of the dangers.

Laws regulate when you must drive cautiously, slow down, and stop. Since the laws differ slightly between states, there are usually questions about when to stop on your DMV knowledge test.

Take a minute or two to go through the rules in your state.

When Going in the Same Direction as the Bus

All states require you to stop before reaching a school bus traveling in your direction and displaying flashing red lights or an extracted stop arm.

You must remain stopped and not proceed until the school bus resumes motion or the bus driver turns off the flashing red lights.

You may also proceed when directed to do so by traffic officers, including school crossing guards. Some states also allow a school bus driver to let you pass by waiving you through.

When Going in the Opposite Direction

When you meet a stopped school bus with flashing red lights traveling in the opposite direction on the same roadway, you are also required to stop.

The Different State Laws

You should be aware of some differences between states because these differences often show up on the written knowledge test.

The differences between states mainly deal with the exceptions to the stopping rule.

State laws telling you when to stop for a school bus loading or unloading children typically derive from $11-705 in the Uniform Vehicle Code (National Committee on Uniform Traffic Laws and Ordinances’ Uniform Vehicle Code).

The latest edition of the Uniform Vehicle Code recommends this wording:

The driver of a vehicle upon a highway with separate roadways need not stop upon meeting or passing a school bus that is on a different roadway or when the school bus is stopped upon a controlled-access highway in a loading zone which is a part of or adjacent to such highway and where pedestrians are not permitted to cross the roadway.

Only a few states have adopted this.

Some states require you to stop for a stopped school even if you are on the other side of a divided highway unless it is a controlled-access highway or the divider meets specific requirements (like width or being a physical barrier).

In some states, whether the road is divided or not doesn’t matter. Instead, they base the stopping requirement on the number of lanes, like three or more lanes in the State of Washington, four lanes in California, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio, and South Dakota, or five lanes in North Carolina and Utah.

You should study this part in your driver’s manual since the DMV written test will likely ask you about it.

What the Amber Flashing Lights Mean

If you face flashing amber (yellow) lights, they tell you the school bus is preparing to stop. Most states require you to use caution, slow down, and prepare to stop. Passing in this situation is mainly allowed, as long as you can pass safely, even if it generally is strongly discouraged.

Your best action is to slow down and prepare to stop your vehicle.

A few states prohibit passing and overtaking when yellow lights are flashing.

School Buses at Intersections

You can usually pass a school bus that has stopped at intersections unless the flashing red lights are active. Many states prohibit a school bus from using flashing red lights at an intersection or other places where a traffic-control signal or police officer controls traffic.

In states like Arkansas, Colorado, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania, you must, however, stop when approaching an intersection at which the school bus has stopped. Michigan law requires you to slow down. Connecticut and Wisconsin have special rules when turning at such an intersection.

DMV Test Questions and Answers by State