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North Carolina driving lesson · General Driving Rules

School buses

A 3-minute lesson from the North Carolina 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
General Driving Rules
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
19, 25, 26

School buses carry almost three quarters of a million children each school day. Children at a stop may dart into traffic even before the bus is in sight, so the rules for stopping are strict and depend on the type of road.

45 mph

Maximum speed limit for a school bus

Handbook p. 25 ↗
7–9 a.m. & 2–4 p.m.

Hours school buses generally operate; be especially careful

Handbook p. 25 ↗

Know the rule

When a school bus shows its mechanical stop signal or flashing red lights to load or unload, approaching drivers must stop and not pass until the stop signal is withdrawn, the red lights are off and the bus has started to move.

Handbook p. 25 ↗

Who must stop for a stopped school bus

Who must stop for a stopped school bus
Road typeWho stops
Two-lane roadwayAll traffic, both directions
Two-lane with a center turning laneAll traffic, both directions
Four-lane without a medianAll traffic, both directions
Four or more lanes with a center turning laneOnly traffic following the bus
Divided highway of four or more lanes with a medianOnly traffic following the bus
Handbook p. 26 ↗
School bus stop rule (four-lane roadway)
Four or more lanes with a center turning lane: only traffic following the bus must stop
5 points

Passing a stopped school bus (8 points in a commercial vehicle)

Handbook p. 19 ↗

Know the rule

Always be careful around school buses and school bus stops, even when no bus is in sight.

Handbook p. 25 ↗

Put it into practice

You're on a four-lane road with no median and a school bus stops in the opposite lanes with its red lights flashing. You must stop: on a four-lane road without a median, traffic in both directions stops.

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.

What is the maximum speed limit for a school bus in North Carolina?
  1. 35 mph
  2. 45 mph
  3. 55 mph
  4. 40 mph

Answer: 45 mph

The maximum speed limit for a school bus is 45 mph.

Handbook p. 25 ↗
On a two-lane roadway, who must stop when a school bus stops to load or unload passengers?
  1. Only traffic following the bus
  2. Only oncoming traffic
  3. Traffic from both directions
  4. No one, if driving under 25 mph

Answer: Traffic from both directions

On a two-lane roadway, when a school bus stops for passengers, all traffic from both directions must stop.

Handbook p. 25 ↗
On a roadway with four or more lanes and a median separation, who must stop for a stopped school bus?
  1. Traffic from both directions
  2. No one is required to stop
  3. Only oncoming traffic
  4. Only traffic behind the bus

Answer: Only traffic behind the bus

On a roadway of four or more lanes with a median separation, only traffic following the bus must stop.

Handbook p. 26 ↗
On a four-lane roadway without any median separation, who must stop for a stopped school bus?
  1. Traffic from both directions
  2. Only traffic following the bus
  3. Only traffic approaching from the front
  4. No one is required to stop

Answer: Traffic from both directions

On a four-lane roadway without a median separation, all traffic from both directions must stop.

Handbook p. 26 ↗
On a two-lane roadway that has a center turning lane, who must stop for a stopped school bus?
  1. Only traffic following the bus
  2. Traffic from both directions
  3. Only traffic in the turning lane
  4. No one is required to stop

Answer: Traffic from both directions

On a two-lane roadway with a center turning lane, all traffic from both directions must stop.

Handbook p. 26 ↗
When may you pass a stopped school bus displaying its red lights?
  1. As soon as you slow to 10 mph
  2. Immediately if no children are visible
  3. After the stop arm and lights are off and the bus moves
  4. Anytime on a four-lane road

Answer: After the stop arm and lights are off and the bus moves

You must not pass until the mechanical stop signal is withdrawn, the lights are off, and the bus has started moving.

Handbook p. 25 ↗
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