HUDSONVILLE, Mich. — The numbers are scary.
In the course of a single school year in Michigan, drivers illegally pass stopped school buses with red lights flashing an estimated 111,960 times.
The number comes from the Michigan Association of Pupil Transportation. They tell us of a one-day survey in 2019 of school bus drivers in the state who were asked report how many times they witnessed “illegal pass-bys.” The 1,373 drivers reported – in that single day – 508 illegal pass-bys. The survey has since been taken every year, and the one-day average is now 622. If you multiply that by the number of school days, you get more than 111,000 illegal pass-bys.
Hudsonville Public Schools Transportation Director Rob Matthews described the worst case scenario all school systems hope to avoid: “If you're passing that school bus and a little kindergartener runs out in front of you, that's a situation nobody wants.”
Some drivers may simply be scofflaws, but many are simply confused about when to stop for school buses.
“Once the school bus activates its overhead yellow lights, that's really exactly the same situation as you encounter when you come to a yellow traffic lights,” explains Matthews, addressing what he considers the biggest source of confusion. “It means you need to slow down and prepare to stop, because the lights are going to change to red. And you're going to need to be at a full and complete stop.”
Think of the flashing lights on the bus as traffic signals: When the signal turns yellow, you know it will turn red. It’s the same with school buses.
The time you can pass a school bus – cautiously – is when it is stopped and its hazard lights are blinking. Those hazard lights are not the overhead lights.
The other source of confusion, when to stop when you’re on the other side of the road. Simple rule: if there is no barrier between you and the bus, such as a median or a wall, you must stop, no matter how many lanes separate you from the bus.
Violate the rules requiring you to stop could cost you a ticket worth from $100 to $500.
And there’s a good chance you’ll get caught: More and more school buses are equipped with side cameras that automatically capture video of any vehicle passing the bus when the red lights are flashing. The make, model, and license number of the violating vehicle can easily be seen and forwarded to law enforcement.
Here are the rules in a nutshell:
- Blinking hazard lights (always yellow and not overhead): Pass with extreme caution.
- Flashing overhead yellow lights: Slow down and prepare to stop, because the red flashing lights will be engaged.
- Flashing overhead red lights: Behind the bus, stop. Coming the other way, stop unless there is a median or other barrier between you and the bus.
