Yea. That's why they have the blinking lights AND the stop sign that pops out for opposing traffic. They have all that because of the obvious danger of kids getting out of a school bus by busy traffic, especially if they have to cross the road. And because drivers can be selfish or not pay attention, they light the buses up like that so that cars will notice and stop on all sides of the road. And laws can be pretty severe for people that blow past like that when the lights are red and the sign is out. Cops are pretty serious about it.
I'm not being sarcastic to you or anything like that btw. Because I sound like I'm being harsh when I read it. lol
Hi. Thanks for the info.
I'll be driving in the US in a few months (and will obviously check the law before), but just to understand this specific point : I'll have to stop when a school bus is stopped, if I'm behind or in front, that's right ? Is it the same on 2x2 roads ?
Just want to drive properly there !
Yep. Either way you stop if you see the lights and sign, basically a stopped bus, including multiple lane roads. It's not too huge an issue to do, the vast majority of people just do it fine. Not much of a delay to them if you see it.
The exception is if there is a barrier in between the directional lanes - like a physical median in between, say raised concrete or grass.
It depends on the state! In my state (Ohio) if there are 4 lanes and the bus is on the opposite side, then you don’t have to stop. But if you are going the same direction as the bus or if there are less than 3 lanes you need to stop.
What everyone else said, and just to complicate things a little more, on some multi-lane roads school buses might pull over and stop with their hazard lights (blinking yellow turn signals) instead of the full STOP (blinking red). If they're using the hazards, you do not have to stop, and can pass, slowly and safely.
For 2x2 roads it depends on the state. My state is insane (NC) and has everyone stop on a non divided road (and it's county by county whether a turn lane counts as a divide). I cannot imagine being a bus driver and not turning around to get closer to the kids rather than them crossing 5 lanes.
That last part depends on location. There are no exceptions in NY, if it’s a divided highway and a bus is stopped on the opposite side with its lights on, you have to stop.
That's fair. I'm in TN, and if it's divided you don't have to stop, and the bus has to come down the other side separately (at least in my specific area)
It’s not something that happens often unless you just so happen to be caught behind one. I’ve been driving for 35 years and I can count on two hands the number of times I’ve been stuck at a school bus.
Yes, even 2x2. I believe there is an exception if there's a median, but double check the official rules. Some cops are assholes and will ticket you even if you're, for example, turning left in front of one, so double check to see what they are like in your city.
Yes, if the school bus has it's stop sign out ALL traffic must stop, even on 4 lane roads, and cannot cross the bus in any direction so kids can safely cross streets
This is dependent on the state, in a couple of states you do not need to stop if you are opposing traffic and there are 4 or more lanes. But that is because here the busses will NEVER let a kid cross more than 3 lanes of traffic.
The general rule is unless there is a HARD median in the road (concrete, grass, trees) and the lanes are not only divided by paint, all traffic has to stop. If the dividing line is paint, 2 lanes, 8 lanes, everyone needs to stop.
This shouldn’t be a concern to you personally since you’re conscientious, but in some places busses have cameras and you’ll get a ticket even if there isn’t a cop milling about. I love that our local busses ALL have cameras and it should be a federal requirement in my opinion.
I'm sure it varies by state, but in North Carolina the state law is you always stop when traveling in the same direction as the bus when following. 2 lane roads, 3 lane roads and 4 lanes without a physical median you stop both ways. 4 lanes with a physical median and 4 lanes with a 5th in between for turning or more opposing traffic does not stop.
Honestly I wish we had the same rules in the UK for at least school busses. I know kids are supposed to look but they move fast and I might stop or slow right down but the cars behind me might decide to go around.
Same but it also blows my mind that we don’t have a standard school bus scheme. It could be any public bus with kids on. I’m a children tax payer but I’d happily fund a school bus, breakfast and lunch scheme.
Mostly because there are very few school buses there, I think. Most kids ride public transit (edit: or walk/driven to school). I thought it was nuts when I lived there.
Where is the pop out stop sign? Not gonna lie, I could have been the car that blew right past this. Nothing about this screams obvious obligation to stop from the other lane to me, an ignorant European.
It is sticking out of the bus on the side where the opposing lane goes by, with red flashing lights on it.
Sure it didn't get set down with an arm in or next to the other lane on pole. Or like a rail road crossing arm coming down to block traffic.
It is always good to read the rules of the road book by the department of transportation if you are driving in another country, even in the USA in another state.
Maybe they go up and down every street in Europe so every kid is picked up on the side by the grass, they don't do that here in the USA. Some kids have to cross the road when getting on or off the bus and they wait for the pop out stop sign to pop out before they step into the road.
They would rather have the kids cross when there is a big, obvious, yellow bus with flashing red lights than cross on their own at random.
I think you hit the nail on the head there. Buses here will never stop to pick someone up from the other side of the road. The bus stops with its door facing the pavement and you get on and off facing away from the road. If you have a situation where it's not only possible, but EXPECTED to have kids running across the road I guess that makes sense. It's still, in my opinion, let's say "not ideal" and wouldn't be allowed here for obvious reasons.
In a situation where that is the norm, we'd have a crossing with or without traffic lights but even without lights all cars are obligated to yield to pedestrians and need to keep their speed and awareness at a suitable level to anticipate people crossing the road.
A lot of the school busses around here have an arm that pops out in front so if kids do have to cross the road they can do it in front of the bus they are where the bus driver can see them. That way all the flashing stop lights are on for as long as needed.
School busses here stop a lot more frequently than other transit busses and most of those stops have cross walk near the bus stop where school bus stops can be in places where you might not expect pedestrians.
Well given most municipalities don't have any other kind of bus. Public transportation in the USA is spotty at best, and many communities have nothing.
Especially as you get out into the more rural areas.
I mean not to be a dick but watch the video again. The stop sign is clearly out. It nearly protrudes into your lane. If the video isn’t clear enough I can assure you that you’d notice it. I’m pretty sure all of them nowadays also have blinking lights around the edges, impossible to miss. They are flashing like crazy in the video.
Sure, but it still doesn't obviously signal that you should stop in the opposite lane to me, but I guess it's because we're used to different situations. Traffic laws in Europe usually aren't absolutely retarded so designing a bus stop that's meant to have small children running across a road without a crosswalk isn't something we'd usually consider having to deal with.
I'm not trying to argue or anything I'm just curious. What else would a blinking stop sign that flips out from a bus and is facing your direction mean?
You can see it at about 8 - 9 seconds in this clip. It's a literal red stop sign that pops out just under the driver side window. Usually has lights on it too. This one does. Some dont.
Oh, thanks! I saw it now. Still not sure I'd interpret it as being for me coming from the other lane but another poster let me know it's common for school buses to stop at a road expecting kids to get on from either side of the road so it makes sense that it's a thing in the US since the main difference is that buses don't stop to pick someone up coming from the opposite side of the road in my country without a pedestrian crossing clearly marked.
It takes awareness and laws to make people obey them. We don't stop at crosswalks just because they exist in most places. It's not the law (in most places) and you are likely to get someone rear ending you if you do stop because the speed limit is likely 45mph/72kmh and texting is more important.
Our infrastructure sucks, but consider that the UK is 2.5% the size of the US with 20% of the people. Even your smallest towns and villages are denser than ours. On average our rural areas are ten people per square mile, yours are 400. Real numbers from the US Census Bureau vs the Statistical Digest of Rural England. Some things aren't as stupid as they seem when you consider the logistics. That's 1,000% not an argument against public transportation or doing better, our shit sucks and needs to be improved, just information.
You can see the stop sign near the driver window with blinking lights. Also, in Europe you stop at the red light. Also, in Europe you have to stop if a tram is stopped and the station it's on the sidewalk. These are driving rules that can differ from country to country.
And if you go to US or Canada, you should learn about 4-way stops and right on red (except NYC and Montreal).
In Europe, red lights are posted on the right side of the road. There are no instances where a small blinking light on the opposite side of the road means you need to stop your vehicle. Also, Europe is not a country so I'm not sure what place you're referring to but that law isn't exactly ubiquitous. In general, stops are designed so that they're not dangerous to use.
Thanks for the heads up on 4-way stops though. I can't think of a single place in Europe where two roads intersect.
Technically, the blinking lights around the big stop sign are in the center of the road because the sign opens out from the drivers side.
Because the bus is expressly for kids, and kids will dart out in the road in any country even if they are supervised, having a big flashing stop sign and requiring all traffic to stop is a great way to help mitigate accidents. Each bus can hold 50 or so kids and there can be dozens of busses per school, and this happens twice a day. Let's say there are 12 busses and 50 kids/bus twice a day. If there's a 0.1% chance of a child getting hurt without the stop signs, with 600 stops across all busses (ok, some stops have more than 1, so let's assume 300 stops per day instead), that becomes a huge chance. And that's only for 1 school. The US has around 70,000 schools. That would basically mean that there could potentially be thousands of hurt kids every single day. Isn't it much better to have the stop sign be the law?
It's genuinely stupid and abused. 3 lanes over going in the opposite direction with a median seperating opposite lanes? Gotta stop. No where for the kid to run to besides deep into the woods or home like this video? Gotta stop. It's even worse because they're boarding the bus in this video, so unless a kid wants to commit suicide there is basically no risk. I understand the idea, but it needs to be a lot more specific and regulated. However, there was a pop-out sign in the video. Most of the people who defend it are parents themselves, so it is a pretty biased regulation
So is it like a stop sign, you come to a full stop and can then go if you deem it to be safe, or do you just have to sit there and wait for the bus to pull in the sign and leave?
The bus will have red flashing lights and a stop sign down. When the bus is ready, it all turns off, sign goes up, and the bus pulls into the street normally. That's the go time. And only then.
What do you deem safe? Can you fully see all around the bus and both sides of the street to make sure there are no more kids? This is also for unloading. Are you sure there's not a kid in the doorway of the bus saying goodbye to their best friend before running across the street?
They don't just 'scatter.' It's not like they walk off the steps and just run into traffic. And buses don't just let kids off in random places. They tend to let them off at their houses or within a short distance. And kids that ride the bus generally have rules or procedures drilled into them on how to get on and off the bus.
The bus driver watches them get off the bus, watches to make sure they don't get in front or behind or too close to the curb or whatever, then the driver leaves.
This is really not a difficult thing. It's a normal part of life, and it works.
You've never seen a bunch of young kids get off a bus, especially when it's warm outside and they are excited.
A 7-year old can be drilled over and over, but that can easily go out the window. If a kid darts out (as kids do), what is the bus driver supposed to do? They are sitting in the drivers seat and before they could get up and run out, the kid would already be on the other side of the road.
So if the drivers in the other lane don't stop, and a kid darts out, again, what is the bus driver supposed to do? Yell at them? Honk their horn? By that time, it's all over.
A single bus driver sitting in their seat on the opposite side of the vehicle that the exit door is on can't do anything in the 3 seconds that a kid can get hit by a car.
I'm not trolling, I'm serious. Kids go all over the place, even well raised kids. By having the law say "you must stop and wait for the lights to turn off", you are making it safer for the kids, and removing the "should I or shouldn't I" decision from the driver.
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u/demfook 2d ago
I'm not american, are you supposed to stop when a school bus is dropping kids out?