With the start of the school year, school buses have returned to the roads, and the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office in Washington state decided to remind drivers of the rules for stopping. In an informational video, Deputy Carly Cappetto demonstrated a typical situation: A car stopped in front of a bus traveling in the opposite direction, even though there was a center turn lane between the two directions of traffic. In that case, stopping is not required.
Drivers must stop when traveling in the same direction as a school bus and the bus has extended its stop sign — even if there is a median or turn lane nearby. However, when approaching a bus from the opposite direction, drivers do not need to stop if a center turn lane separates the traffic flows. The same rule applies on a four-lane road when the directions are separated by a double yellow line.
The sheriff’s office urged drivers to review these rules in advance to avoid creating dangerous situations and unnecessarily holding up traffic. At the end of the video, motorists were also reminded to yield and clear a lane for emergency vehicles.
Based on: Pierce County sheriff’s office gives tips on when to stop for school bus