S.C. Highway Patrol reminds drivers to follow rules around school buses

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – Starting Monday, several Lowcountry school districts will welcome back students. With school being back in session comes busier traffic and the possibility of driving through school zones.

But what are the rules when it comes to driving behind a school bus?

According to the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, the law requires you to stop for the entire time a school bus is stopped or preparing to stop with its red lights flashing. This applies to any two-lane highway or any four-lane or multi-lane highway when traveling behind the bus.

With school zones being active, obeying the speed limit in school zones will need to be a part of drivers’ daily routine again.

The Department of Public Safety says school buses loading and unloading students account for approximately three times as many school bus-related fatalities.

The “Danger Zone” extends ten feet in front, on each side and behind a school bus. These are areas where children are at the greatest risk of not being seen by a bus driver.

Officials say you can prevent school bus-related tragedies by explaining to your child the safe way you cross the street such as always stopping at the curb, looking for cars, and looking to their left and right for any traffic coming their way as they cross. Trooper Nick Pye says parents should advise their children to listen to bus drivers.

“They’re the ones who are gonna tell children in some cases when they can cross the road and they can’t,” Pye says. You know we have to all work together, the kids the parents, school officials, law enforcement but also school bus drivers. The school bus really holds the key to the whole thing.”

Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.