When Do You Stop For A School Bus? Know The Law In Northern Virginia

VIRGINIA — As many Northern Virginia schools open this week, motorists may want to refresh their memory about what to do when a school bus is stopped or when a school zone speed limit is active.

Every year, more than 25 million elementary through high school students get to and from school on buses, which travel about 5.7 billion miles in a single school year, according to the American School Bus Council.

When they ride the bus, they’re about 70 times more likely to arrive at school alive than those students who get to school by other means, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

There are dangers, though — notably when children get on and off the bus. When children are injured or killed, it usually happens when the school bus is stopped, the lights are flashing and the stop arm is extended, according to safety experts.

All 50 states and the District of Columbia require motorists to come to a complete stop any time they encounter a bus with its lights flashing and stop arm extended.

In Virginia, the state law requires drivers to stop for school buses until children are clear of the roadway and the bus is moving again. The only exception is when vehicles are on the opposite side of a divided roadway from a school bus. Drivers must stop on roadways with school buses when there is no median separating opposite directions. Drivers on the same side of a divided roadway as a school bus must also stop.

A violation can result in a $250 fine. However, if the violation is classified as a reckless driving class 1 misdemeanor charge, the penalty could be a fine up to $2,500 and up to 12 months in jail.

Virginia law also allows for localities to allow video monitoring systems on school buses to record violations of passing school buses.

Fairfax County's school bus camera program to catch violations is expected to launch in 2024, FFX Now reported.

Another Virginia law allows localities to use speed cameras in school zones and issue fines up to $100 for violations. Some Northern Virginia localities are implementing speed cameras, including Fairfax County, City of Fairfax, City of Alexandria and City of Manassas. Under the state law, signage must inform drivers of a speed camera being present.

Concerns About Passing School Buses

Despite laws, transportation officials estimate that about 42 million times every year, motorists pull around the legally stopped school buses, risking the lives of children as they get on and off. An average of six students a year died while attempting to board or get off their school buses from 2012 to 2021, according to the most recent National School Bus Loading and Unloading Survey.

The report from the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services didn’t discuss injuries and near misses, but safety experts say those numbers are much higher than the count of children who are killed.

While all states require a complete stop when the stop arm is extended, there are nuances. Most require other motorists to stop regardless of their direction, unless there’s a median separating lanes of traffic. And about half of states allow local governments or school districts to use cameras to capture images and issue tickets for drivers illegally passing stopped school buses.

In a single day in 2017, more than 104,000 school bus drivers observed nearly 78,000 instances in which motorists illegally passed stopped school buses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. At that rate, the tally for the entire school year would be around 14 million violations.

Another National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report found that from 2006-2015, 102 pedestrians under 18 were killed in school-transportation-related crashes.

Increasingly in recent years, state legislatures have adopted policies to improve bus safety. Along with the camera push, a requirement for seat belt use on school buses are keystone policies.

NHTSA data also shows that an average of six student passengers die a year in school bus crashes. The agency recommended in 2018 that states adopt legislation requiring passenger lap and shoulder belts on all new large school bus purchases. A Virginia bill introduced by Del. Paul Krizek (D-Fairfax) to require all school buses to have seat belts by July 1, 2038 had not been adopted.