5 Mass. School Bus Laws You Might Not Know

Written by Andrew Sylvia

Most Martha's Vineyard schoolkids know the "Rules of the Bus," but here are a few Massachusetts state laws about school buses you might not have known.

#1. Everyone knows to stop when a school bus is loading and unloading passengers, but what you may not know is that if you don’t stop, you could get a ticket of up to $250. That fine can go up to $2,000 and a suspended license of up to a year for subsequent offenses (MGL 90-14)

#2. Speaking of stopping behind a stopped bus: Even fire trucks, police cars and ambulances with their sirens on have to stop until the passengers have been loaded or unloaded. (MGL 89-7B)

#3.  Tell your kids to sit down, because bus drivers can be fined up to $500 if they drive the bus when the kids aren’t sitting down, or if they have more school children than seats. (MGL 90-7L)

#4.  Anybody caught throwing rocks at a school bus can be fined up to $500 and  sent to jail for a year. (MGL 159-104)

#5. Unless they’re on roads not open to other drivers, school bus drivers can’t go faster than 40 miles per hour if they’re transporting kids. (MGL 90-17)

School is back in session on Martha's Vineyard. Please drive safely.