We get it.
When school is in session, school buses can be a huge pain on the road. Getting stuck behind one can be slow and frustrating — and we’re not afraid to admit it!
Still, there’s an important reason that you’re never allowed to pass a school bus that’s loading and unloading students.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), approximately half a million buses transport more than 25 million children a day in the United States. For the most part, the process is extremely safe and the number of children injured or killed in school bus related accidents each year is very low.
However, two-thirds of deaths that do occur in school bus related crashes each year are killed outside the bus. This can often be attributed to other vehicles that do not stop appropriately during loading and unloading.
So let’s take a look at when and why you need to stop for a school bus, including special scenarios like medians and divided roads.