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Colorado driving lesson · Sharing the Road

School buses

A 3-minute lesson from the Colorado course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.

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Read time
3 minutes
Course unit
Sharing the Road
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
23, 24

School bus rules are some of the most tested in the handbook. Use caution near buses in neighborhoods and school zones, where children get on and off and cross the road. Whether traffic coming the other way must stop depends on how the road is built.

School bus light signals (red/yellow) meaning chart
School bus warning lights

Know the rule

Overhead yellow (amber) lights mean the bus is about to stop to load or unload children. They stay on until the door opens.

Handbook p. 23 ↗

Know the rule

When the door opens, the red STOP lights and STOP arm activate. Stop and stay stopped until the driver retracts the arm and turns off the red lights.

Handbook p. 23 ↗
20 feet

Minimum stopping distance from the front or rear bumper of a school bus with red lights flashing

Handbook p. 23 ↗

Know the rule

It's illegal to fail to stop when a school bus has its stop lights on and stop arm extended.

Handbook p. 23 ↗

Who must stop for a school bus with flashing red lights

Who must stop for a school bus with flashing red lights
Road typeWho stops
Two-lane roadTraffic in both directions
Four-lane road, no medianTraffic in both directions
Divided highway, 4+ lanes with medianOnly traffic behind the bus
5+ lanes with shared center turn laneOnly traffic behind the bus
Handbook p. 23 ↗
Two-way left turn lane markings
Five-lane road with a shared center turn lane

Know the rule

Don't move until the flashing red lights stop, then proceed with caution.

Handbook p. 23 ↗

Know the rule

Use extreme care near a stopped school bus; children are likely to dart from its front or rear.

Handbook p. 23 ↗

Know the rule

Violating school bus traffic laws has serious legal consequences.

Handbook p. 24 ↗

Put it into practice

On a four-lane road with no median, a school bus coming toward you stops and flashes red lights. You must stop at least 20 feet away, since both directions stop without a median. With a median, you could keep going.

Check your understanding

Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.

When a school bus's overhead yellow warning lights are flashing, what does this mean?
  1. The bus is experiencing mechanical trouble
  2. It's about to stop for children
  3. The bus has finished loading and is departing
  4. Traffic must stop immediately

Answer: It's about to stop for children

Overhead yellow warning lights mean the bus is about to stop to load or unload children; they stay on until the door opens.

Handbook p. 23 ↗
On a two-lane roadway, when a school bus stops with flashing red lights, which direction(s) of traffic must stop?
  1. Only traffic behind the bus
  2. Only oncoming traffic
  3. Traffic in both directions
  4. No traffic is required to stop

Answer: Traffic in both directions

On a two-lane roadway, traffic in both directions must stop for a school bus with flashing red lights.

Handbook p. 23 ↗
On a divided highway with 4 or more lanes and a median, which traffic must stop for a stopped school bus?
  1. Traffic in both directions
  2. No one has to stop
  3. Only vehicles traveling in the lanes behind the bus
  4. Only oncoming traffic

Answer: Only vehicles traveling in the lanes behind the bus

On a divided highway with a median, only the vehicles behind the bus in its direction of travel must stop.

Handbook p. 23 ↗
On a highway with 5 or more lanes and a shared center turn lane, which traffic must stop for a school bus?
  1. Only traffic behind the bus
  2. Only vehicles in the center turn lane
  3. No vehicles are required to stop
  4. Traffic in both directions

Answer: Only traffic behind the bus

On a highway with 5+ lanes and a shared center turn lane, only vehicles behind the bus in its direction must stop.

Handbook p. 24 ↗
On a four-lane road with no median, which traffic must stop for a school bus with flashing red lights?
  1. Only traffic behind the bus
  2. Only the lane next to the bus
  3. Traffic in both directions
  4. Only oncoming traffic

Answer: Traffic in both directions

On a four-lane roadway without a median, traffic in both directions must stop for a school bus with flashing red lights.

Handbook p. 23 ↗
You must stop for a stopped school bus even if you are approaching from the opposite direction on a four-lane road with no median.
  1. True
  2. False

Answer: True

On a four-lane roadway without a median, traffic in both directions must stop for a school bus with flashing red lights.

Handbook p. 23 ↗
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