A 3-minute lesson from the Virginia course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Some stops are never optional. Virginia lists exactly where you must bring your vehicle to a full stop, and school buses get special protection from every direction except across a divided road.
You must always stop:
At all stop signs, red traffic lights and flashing red signals
When entering a street or crossing a sidewalk from a driveway, alley, building or parking lot
Stop for a stopped school bus with flashing red lights and an extended stop sign when approaching from any direction on a highway, private road or school driveway. Stay stopped until everyone is clear and the bus moves again.
Exception: you don't have to stop if you're traveling the opposite direction on a road divided by a median or barrier and the bus is on the other side. Still be prepared for unexpected actions by people leaving the bus.
Stopping for a school bus at an intersectionSchool bus on a divided road: only the same side stops
Put it into practice
On a four-lane road with no median, an oncoming school bus stops with red lights flashing. You must stop too, because only a median or barrier excuses traffic going the opposite way.
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.
Which of these requires you to come to a complete stop?
A flashing yellow light
A green light with no pedestrians present
A broken white lane line
Crossing a sidewalk from a driveway
Answer: Crossing a sidewalk from a driveway
You must always stop when entering a street or crossing a sidewalk from a driveway, alley, building, or parking lot.
