ADA TOWNSHIP, Mich. — If you were a student going back to school, you would dread the phrase “pop quiz.”
As a driver, how would you do on a pop quiz about school bus road rules?
We’re here to help you prep for the quiz, with the assistance of Carrie Whipple, transportation director of Forest Hills Public Schools.
When must you stop for a school bus?
Carrie: “When the yellows are going, that's the warning that we're going to be stopping and letting students on or off. And then when the reds turn on, that's when you have to stop.”
What if you’re on a two-lane road?
Carrie: “You have to stop in either direction, if you're behind or coming up to them.”
Four-lane road?
Carrie: “You still have to stop.”
When are you not required to stop?
Carrie: “If there's a barrier or grass, you do not have to stop if you're coming the opposite direction. But you have to stop behind the bus (when you’re going the same direction as the bus).”
“We have our hazard light stop, which is just your hazard lights flashing. And cars don't have to stop for those.” (The hazard lights are lined up lower on the bus: on the front with the headlights, on the back with the brake and backup lights.)
So. How did you do?
By the way, enforcing the rules are at a new level. An officer doesn’t have to be present for you to get caught passing a school bus with its red lights flashing. More school buses these days are equipped with cameras that are running whenever the buses are running, and the software in them take note when the red lights are flashing the flashing stop sign is extended. The camera picks up the offending driver’s plate, vehicle, even their face. The school district is able to send the recording to law enforcement, and, as Carrie puts it, “they take it from there.”
One more note: If you think you might have heard there’s a shortage of bus drivers, you’re right. Forest Hills Public Schools is always taking applications. Click here.
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