The kids will go back to school in a few weeks, so it's a good time to freshen up on the rules of driving near a school bus.
Get the rules wrong and you could face a $430 ticket in Washington state -- or worse, injure a child.
Here are the rules when a school but stop signal is activated:
- If you are stopped behind a stopped school bus that is loading or unloading children, you cannot pass it until the school bus starts driving again or the driver has inactivated the stop sign.
- On a two lane road, traffic from both directions must stop.
- If the road is divided, the traffic behind the school bus must stop, but cars going the opposite direction can continue driving.
- On a four or more lane road, all the cars behind the bus must stop. Cars in the opposite direction don't need to stop.
The diagram below from the Lake Forest Park Police Department helps illustrate the rules.
RELATED: Here's when to stop for a school bus
