Texas roadway rules to remember during school bus stops

HENDERSON, Texas ( KETK ) – With the school year just around the corner, East Texas first responders are reminding drivers about school bus pick-up and drop-off roadway safety .

“If you see the school bus lights, stop, pay attention, get off your phone,” Rusk County Fire Marshal and Emergency Management Coordinator Patrick Dooley said.

Dooley asks drivers to remember the Texas School Bus Laws ahead of the coming school year.

“Especially at the beginning of the year, you have students that may be their first time ever riding a bus and they’re just learning how to exit a bus and how to be safe,” Travis Driver, with Henderson ISD Transportation, said.

Dooley explained the road ru les that all drivers must follow and how it depends on the typ e of roadway where a bus stops.

“Two-lane vehicles in both directions must stop. That the far left side, multi-lane paved across vehicles traveling in both directions must stop,” Dooley said.

In the instance of a divided highway with a barrier or grass median, the rule is different.

“The only side that has to stop is the side that’s on the side of the school bus, the opposite oncoming traffic doesn’t have to stop,” Dooley said.

Henderson ISD said that too often drivers ignore their signals.

“It’s almost daily that you hear of a driver passing a bus that has the stop sign extended, the red flashers are on and cars are just zooming past,” Driver said.

Motorist in any direction should leave plenty of room between their vehicles and school buses.

“Whenever that stop sign is extended and those red lights are flashing the law says to stop at least 25 feet away from the bus,” Driver said.

Remembering these rules when sharing the road with a school bus can help keep students safe on their daily bus routes.

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