Educating Drivers On School Bus Safety and the Law

It’s back to school season in the city of Lakewood, so while driving let’s watch for children getting on and off of school buses.

Do you know what to do when approaching a school bus with its flashing lights and stop sign activated?

RCW 46.61.370 says any driver, from either direction, meeting a school bus with activated safety lights and stop sign deployed must stop their vehicle and not proceed until the visual signals are shut off or the bus resumes motion.  The short version is: stop your vehicle and wait for the bus to shut down the flashing red lights before you drive on.  Pretty easy, on a two-lane roadway, but what if there are multiple lanes?

If you’re going the opposite direction of the bus you do not have to stop on roads with 3-lanes including a 2-way left-turn lane, 4-lane roads, or a road with a physical non-crossable barrier.

You always have to stop if going in the same direction as a bus with its stop sign and red lights activated.

If you are behind a driver that may not know the rules and still stops when it is legal to proceed then remember to be courteous and wait because they are just being cautious. Remember driving requires patience.

It’s illegal to overtake or pass an actively loading/unloading school bus by crossing over solid yellow lines, even if there’s a 2-way left turn lane.  Remember, the 2-way left turn lanes are not for passing – they’re for left turns only. Use of a 2-way left turn lane for passing any vehicle or as a regular travel lane is a moving violation and you can be ticketed.

• If you’re driving opposite of an active school bus and have a barrier or at least one designated lane between you and the bus then you are safe to continue without stopping.
• If you’re going the same direction as the bus, in any designated lane, stop and wait for the warning lights to be shut off and please keep a reasonable distance.