Drivers, as school starts back up don't forget the school bus traffic rules
TAMPA, Fla. (FOX 13) - The first day of school is upon us, meaning drivers will be seeing much more school buses on the roads.
Earlier this year, the Florida Department of Education surveyed about 9,000 school bus drivers. State officials reported that 10,937 Florida drivers illegally passed a stopped school – in one day.
Last year, the survey showed there were a total of 10,947 drivers who passed a stopped school bus when they were not supposed to.
According to Florida law, if you’re traveling in the same direction of a school bus and it stops, you must also stop if you’re behind it or on the side of it. The same rule applies if you are traveling in the opposite direction in a two-lane or multi-lane road.
The only time you don’t have to stop for a school bus is if you’re heading in the opposite direction and there is an unpaved surface such as a grassy median, a raised median or a physical barrier, separating, such as a grassy median, a raised median or a physical barrier, separating the roads. It has to be at least five feet.
If you pass a school bus, it’s an automatic $258 fine. If you pass on the right of the school bus, it’s also a mandatory court appearance and four points to your license.