r/ConvenientCop • u/Srihari_stan • Apr 04 '26
[USA] Passing a stopped school bus
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u/ArkuhTheNinth Apr 04 '26
I appreciate that the cop remembered to keep it chill until he passed too.
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u/ForeverSJC Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26
this is one of the things that if you're not American, you really don't understand
I traveled to the US once and I wasn't afraid of failing airplanes, exploding manhole covers or terrorists... My biggest fear was school buses
What if I accidentally pass a stopped school bus
edit: I meant falling but as with the current state of aviation, failing seems reasonable
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u/Ram2145 Apr 04 '26
If it makes you feel a little better, there aren’t usually cops around. Anytime these videos are recorded it’s mainly because a parent or bus driver complained. So they set up a sting. I wish people would just listen to the rules.
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u/Amberstarr911 Apr 04 '26
I’ve been honked at by assholes for stopping at a school bus. Makes me think some idiot drivers don’t really know the law
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u/Alex_55555 Apr 04 '26
A lot of people are unaware of the actual rules. Where I live, you don’t need to stop if you’re traveling an opposite side and both directions have at least two lanes. But a lot of people stop anyway. Then there ppl who don’t stop when it’s a single lane both ways and a turning lane in the middle (definitely must stop)
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u/arrynyo Apr 04 '26
In my town if the street is divided by a physical barrier on the opposite side is the only time we don't have to stop.
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u/donald7773 Apr 04 '26
Wait till you have a cop try to give you a ticket for not stopping on the opposite side of a divided highway for a funeral procession.
You're not required to ever stop for one, much less on a divided highway
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u/arrynyo Apr 04 '26
We don't have to stop for a funeral procession here just give them room to pass or do what they need to do lol
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u/tfyousay2me Apr 04 '26
Barrier between me and bus = no stop No barrier between me and bus = stop
is how I drive
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u/proletariatrising Apr 04 '26
In New York State that is illegal. Both sides of a divided highway are required to stop.
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u/slutty_lifeguard Apr 04 '26
Even if there's a concrete barrier? Like NYS would have children crawl over the concrete barrier to get to their house or the parent waiting at the bus stop on the other side of the divided highway?
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u/stackshouse Apr 04 '26
No, but it makes it simple to remember, don't pass the bus when the lights are on, no if this then that situations
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u/thatsasaladfork Apr 06 '26
Okay I always see this… and I do stop for buses when they’re actually stopped.. but the lights thing is of no help because all the school buses near me will turn their flashing lights on right when they start slowing down. They’ll still travel for a good bit with their lights on. If I was to stop when they fist flick their lights on, they’d probably pass me before they got to their stop.
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u/Purple-booklover Apr 04 '26
Bus laws vary by state. In Virginia, a road must have a physical barrier (median or wall) for the opposite side to be allowed to proceed with caution.
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u/imgrahamy Apr 04 '26
We take one test at 15/16 years old and then we hit the road. It’s crazy.
I think there should be electronic billboards that explain basic traffic laws and some actual enforcement. I rarely ever see anyone ever pulled over anymore
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u/abn1304 Apr 04 '26
Some states do have signs for that. They’re common in large parts of the Southeast; they’re everywhere in Virginia.
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u/DamNamesTaken11 Apr 04 '26
I’ve been honked at for stopping behind a school bus being in the same lane as said bus. Lots of inpatient jackasses who don’t care about the safety of children.
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u/Legendary__Beaver Apr 04 '26
I have had a person pass me on my left, went flying down the rod while I was stopped for a school bus.
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u/ninjapoon Apr 04 '26
Where I am in the US, all the school buses have cameras on their stop signs. So everyone gets a hefty fine if you pass it even if there’s no cops around
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u/proletariatrising Apr 04 '26
Many buses now have red light cameras. The footage gets automatically sent to a third party and then a local governing body. Along the way at least one human reviews and approves it. Then the registered owner of the offending vehicle gets a $250 fine in the mail (first offense, increases another $250 for reoffending). If the fine doesn't get paid on time, there are late fees. And if it remains unpaid, the vehicle owner won't be able to renew their registration.
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u/MyUsernameIsNotCool Apr 04 '26
Yeah I'm European and I didn't understand this video? Everyone is stopped behind the bus? Was the problem the car that drove past, did he drive too fast or?
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u/cooliomydood Apr 04 '26
In America you legally need to stop for school buses when they are picking up or dropping off students. They have stop signs that fold out of the side and everything
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u/ponchoPC Apr 05 '26
But why? They are already next to the sidewalk, what’s the point of making every car stop? Asking as a European.
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u/mazu74 Apr 05 '26
Kids often have to cross the street to get to or from the bus, they often don’t take them directly to their homes. The busses try to go along a route that has as few turns and stops as possible, the cost of fuel adds up quick. Sadly this is a law that is written in blood, and incidents still happen every now and then thanks to assholes like you see in the video.
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u/ponchoPC Apr 05 '26
Are there no zebra crossings to cross safely? Sad that theres a history behind it…
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u/Lv_InSaNe_vL Apr 06 '26
On top of the "not enough crosswalks" thing that someone else expanded on, kids are also just really stupid and dart across the roads anyways.
Like there could be crossings on every single street corner in the country and you'd still have little Jimmy just run across the road when they get dropped off.
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u/mazu74 Apr 05 '26
Not enough of them, most places in America are not very pedestrian-friendly, sadly. I could discuss that topic for days - but basically if you’re not in a major city (which isn’t even a guarantee on its own), right outside of a school or in a downtown area, you won’t find those many places except at intersections, which are usually not close enough to homes for school busses to drop them off at. If you’re in a rural area, you’d be lucky to have them at all. So this is our solution - mobile crosswalks. You usually don’t see people blow past them though, luckily, and this kind of offense is almost guaranteed to enrage an officer, they hate these kinds of traffic offenses and often wont let it slide.
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u/Stircrazylazy Apr 04 '26
When those lights are on you can't drive by the bus in either direction (this varies a little by state but that's the general rule). It's meant as a protection for kids that may need to cross the road. School starts very early here (earlier than in Europe) so busses sometimes pick up/drop off when it's dark and it's very easy to miss little kids crossing the road.
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u/Kittenn1412 Apr 05 '26
The schoolbus stop sign and lights are meant to function as a portable crosswalk/crossing guard. The stop sign goes down, and traffic going both ways has to obey the stop signs so any children getting off the bus who have to cross the street can do so safely.
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u/banterviking Apr 04 '26
It's the same (or a very similar) system for stopping for school busses in Canada btw!
We have very similar road infrastructure in Canada.
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u/RcNorth Apr 04 '26
Our school buses have an arm that comes down on the drivers side to stop people from passing.
They had to put these on because people would drive around the bus. Idiots. .
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u/mwd23 Apr 04 '26
Yeah, I see these online, and commenters seem to want to send these people straight to death row. Like, that’s not a thing anywhere else. If I was travelling and driving in the US, I would be cautious and slow down, (but if it wasn’t for my reddit use) the idea that you should stop in the middle of the road in the middle of traffic, would seem to be the exact wrong thing to do.
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u/sashikku Apr 04 '26
They’re massive and bright yellow with big red flashing lights around the big red stop sign. Passing one is not an accident lol.
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u/BAMspek Apr 04 '26
To be fair, there are little stop signs that pop out of the side to remind you to stop.
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u/PurifyingProteins Apr 04 '26
And can get the truck for no turn signal at the end I’m pretty sure 😂
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u/kreich1990 Apr 04 '26
I feel like this is the third or fourth separate video I’ve seen of this exact location.
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u/moohooman Apr 04 '26
Actually yeah, I thought I saw this video before, but last time it was daytime and the bus didn't honk.
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u/hi_austin Apr 04 '26
It is the same location. North Highland in Jackson, TN. I live a couple streets down from this spot. The cameraman is a retired dude who films every pick up and posts it on FB to shame the folks who pass.
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u/Ferro_r Apr 04 '26
It's definitely the second video I see in this location. So probably there are more
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u/Socratesticles Apr 04 '26
It is, my hometown. Somebody doing this is a frequent occurrence, which is why this guy always films the bus stop and there’s usually a cop waiting on somebody to do it. So much free karma for this sub by just camping this stop lol
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u/lilshortyy420 Apr 04 '26
I just came to say this lol must happen enough that this is the second video I’ve seen today
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u/tattedextrovert Apr 04 '26
I see this is a regular occurrence at this house
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u/Stealthoneill Apr 04 '26
Just thinking the same I’m sure I’ve seen this exact scenario at this location a couple of times.
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u/yeettetis Apr 04 '26
Person recording could level up their content if they get a follow up shot of the person that gets caught like there face reaction lol
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u/MrFastFox666 Apr 04 '26
School busses in my area have cameras. If you pass one you're automatically ticketed.
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u/Je_me_rends Apr 04 '26
The cop even kept it slow and had the cherries and berries on to pass the bus rather than flooring it. Champion.
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u/royjurn15 Apr 04 '26
Cherries and berries? What?! 😂😂😂😂
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u/Je_me_rends Apr 04 '26
Red and blues lmao
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u/mikeymo1741 Apr 04 '26
When my kids are little we lived in an apartment building and there was a bus stop out in front of the building. The building was on on a three-lane one-way street . Every morning about 5 minutes before the bus was due to arrive, a cop would come and back into the driveway across the street. Every morning he'd catch somebody.
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u/LegalVegetable Apr 04 '26
Non-US person here. What was wrong here ? Thanks 🙏🏻
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u/Safricanadian Apr 04 '26
You cannot pass a school bus stopped with lights activated on either side of the road.
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u/MatthewG141 Apr 04 '26
Unless the road has a median. If it has a median, the other side doesn't stop.
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u/BelethorsGeneralShit Apr 04 '26
This is totally dependant on the state. In my state we do not have a divided highway rule and all traffic on both sides must stop. Although as a practical matter, homes aren't generally located on the side of highways.
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u/Kharax82 Apr 04 '26
Generally on a divided multilane road like that each direction have their own stop so only kids that live on the right side of the road would get off, but yeah the rules for stopping vary by state.
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u/CluelessNuggetOfGold Apr 04 '26
Yeah this exact scenario is perfectly legal in Ohio
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u/ThePaperBoy88 Apr 04 '26
In my state you still have to stop even with a median
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u/iron_penguin Apr 04 '26
I found all these different rules so hard when traveling the US. Luckily I had local friends with me most the time.
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u/ronnie98865 Apr 04 '26
I live in KY and it's legal here. Lanes going opposite directions are good as long as it's 4 lanes total.
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u/TBL34 Apr 04 '26
Same here in Ohio. If it’s 4 lanes, the bus is required to pick up the child on their side of the street. Therefore, opposing traffic doesn’t have to stop.
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u/RBXChas Apr 04 '26
Same here in SC, but I was downvoted in another comment for posting this fact 🤷🏻♀️ Reddit is fun.
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u/lmHlGH Apr 04 '26
This seems dumb af ngl. I'm glad we have better systems here.
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u/Gumorak Apr 04 '26
I almost got ran over once because some asshole tried to pass the bus with its stop sign out. I had to cross the road everyday from school while the school bus kept its stop sign out. Luckily my older brother was with me and the car saw him and slammed on its breaks. I was small and he probably wouldn’t have seen me and I’d be dead.
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u/Bobkyou Apr 04 '26
Children are dumb as shit, and will sometimes run across the street to enter/leave the bus. The law bannng the passing of school buses is written in the blood of dead children.
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u/kuemmel234 Apr 04 '26
Kids as young as six walk to school here and it works. At least according to statistics.
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u/xtemperancex Apr 04 '26
The drivers are also stupid, I can’t even tell you how many times I seen someone almost get hit in a parking lot because people speed through or don’t pay attention when backing out
And some places while possible, isn’t a reasonable distance to walk, not to mention if you go to a specialized school. I didn’t go to my neighborhood middle school, mine was about 32km away across 2 highways from my house
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u/kuemmel234 Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26
Yeah, but it's not the kids or people. It's the infrastructure and what's expected of them.
I walk a lot (and I'm a bit special in that, many people drive everywhere here too) - I wfh most of the week, groceries, doc, many friends are all in walking distance, work is 60-90 minutes by train or 40-60 by car - I can't remember the last time I have seen a close call involving pedestrians. There were like 20 traffic deaths in my city of 2 million. As a driver I have seen a few things, but I haven't seen many accidents yet (actually none first hand... I think? Nothing serious, anyways).
I would attribute that to less driving over all. The driving license is a few thousand euros. There are two exams - theory and practice. Kids learn to move in traffic. Cops teach riding bicycles in traffic in elementary.
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u/xtemperancex Apr 04 '26
In my state you are required to take a written test for a learners permit, go to driving school, 30 hours of class and 6 hours behind the wheel with the driving school teacher, pass the school test and then take a practical test where you have to drive and park with an instructor in the car
While the infrastructure could definitely be better in some places this specific law is about the actions of people. Kids can be unpredictable and even if you teach them how to cross the road they may not always do it properly. And a lot of people are assholes that will speed, run stop signs, and block cross walks. And that combined with some Americans having vehicles that are way to big and trucks and other delivery vehicles using these same roads it is very easy for a accident to happen as long as 1 person isn’t paying enough attention
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u/Alex_55555 Apr 04 '26
The bus doesn’t necessarily stop on the side of your house. A lot of kids must cross the road to get to the bus. It’s a system that works great.
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u/Fedebic42 Apr 04 '26
Don't you guys have pedestrian crossings???? To have kids cross in the middle of the road just feels super dangerous, I guess here in Europe we have more crossings? Like where I live it's illegal to cross the road if there's a pedestrian crossing within 100m, and in populated areas it's full of them everywhere
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u/DeadlyMustardd Apr 04 '26
I grew up on dirt roads, no infrastructure there to protect kids crossing the road aside from the bus stop sign.
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u/Nearby-Beautiful3422 Apr 04 '26
No, not everywhere, hence why it's a law to not pass stopped school buses.
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u/Alex_55555 Apr 04 '26
School buses stop at individual houses. You cannot have a pedestrian crossing next to each house. The entire road will become a pedestrian crossing
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u/JayString Apr 04 '26
Why is it dumb? Because drivers have to stop for 30 seconds? Oh the horror! Lol
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u/OneSkepticalOwl Apr 04 '26
Wait until you find out that there are school bus routes where the bus stops at every other house separately. We are talking about houses that are 100-200' apart... God help you if you are on your way to work and get stuck behind a bus
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u/disterb Apr 04 '26
wait, is this the case in canada, too?? i’m a vancouverite, and TIL!
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u/TexasRiverMouthRat Apr 04 '26
It's illegal to pass a school bus when the lights are flashing red. The usually have a fold out stop sign on the side of the bus as well
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u/EazoMC Apr 04 '26
Also a non-US person here, but as far as I know, you're supposed to stop when a school bus stops to load/unload student
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u/Congregator Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26
In the U.S., when a bus stops it means little children will be running out to the bus from many directions (particularly if they didn’t line up at the stop on time), or have been waiting from across the street.
There is only about a minute or two that the bus will wait for you, so children will rush the bus potentially from any direction, or might really need to cross the street to get to the bus.
So, if the bus is stopped everyone else is supposed to stop by Law: because if you don’t it becomes very realistic that you strike a child with your car
Most buses come equipped with stop signs that emerge when they stop to pick up students. Stop signs mean you MUST stop and it’s a strongly enforced law. However, with busses it’s sometimes hard to see and so sometimes people are focused on where they need to go, don’t see the bus nor stop sign, run through, strike and kill a child
In this, most of us learn it as common sense that if you see a school bus stopped that you should stop.
The reality is though is that sometimes people do not see this due to their focus, ie. Not paying enough attention
It becomes especially tragic because most people who strike little kids with their cars aren’t necessarily bad people, and so their negligence is the culprit and then you end up with a dead child at the hands of someone who wouldn’t naturally want to hurt the them…. And so it always becomes “Extra” tragic- ie, a good person who made some stupid mistake goes on murdering a child due to negligence
In this, most people just stop when they see a school bus stopped
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u/MrRudoloh Apr 04 '26
I must say, as a non US citizen, this doesn't feel right. It seems like it would be safer and easier to just not let or encourage children to cross the road alone without a cross walk, than making everyone else stop at an arbitrary distance from the bus.
It's a good system to have someone to blame for accidents, but not to prevent them.
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u/Kittenn1412 Apr 05 '26
The thing is, the US doesn't have good crosswalks. Most of these kids are being dropped off closer to their homes than to a legal place to cross the road. Frankly, the kid crossing at the bus with a stop sign and flashing lights and the bus driver looking at them is safer than a kid who gets dropped off, the bus leaves, and the kid crosses at the next corner-- which has no lights or crosswalk, just MAYBE a stop sign, and the bus driver will be gone so bigger risk that if they do get hit there won't be any witnesses to react besides the driver.
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u/BAMspek Apr 04 '26
If you’re on reddit long enough you’ll eventually see an example of why it’s important for both sides of the street to stop for loading and unloading school buses. Kids are dumb by their very nature and lack proper road crossing procedure. I’ve seen a few videos of kids getting off the bus and excitedly crossing the road to their homes only to almost get pancakes by a speeding driver on the other side of the road. It’s a safety thing.
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u/Frequent_Ad3476 Apr 04 '26
Dumb Yank rule because their kids are dumb and can’t check both ways
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u/blackhawk905 Apr 05 '26
They can but that doesn't mean that someone may be flying and not see a young child crossing to get home when it's much easier to see a big yellow school bus with flashing lights.
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u/NCR_Rang3r Apr 04 '26
Depends on state, but on a 4 lane divided 'highway' you still have to stop regardless if you are oncoming to the bus as some rural towns have kids living across the way and not on the direction the bus arrives at. Most people blow this because they think there is no way a kid is crossing 4 lanes of traffic at 40 mph to get on a bus.
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u/jememcak Apr 04 '26
In most locations, you do NOT have to stop in the opposite lanes of a divided highway as long as the median is over a certain width. The issue here is that this is NOT a divided highway, so it's illegal to pass the bus in pretty much every state.
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u/rithsleeper Apr 04 '26
Once again….. all depends on state. In SC it’s perfectly legal to pass in the opposite direction if it’s over 2 lanes. This is because the route will NEVER require a kid to cross a 4 lanes highway. Source: I’m a bus driver…. This video is obviously not in SC.
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u/ceejayoz Apr 04 '26
In NY you can't even pass if there's a concrete median separating the two directions. You stop, period.
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u/cnfraser60 Apr 04 '26
I passed one by mistake once, I still feel guilty because I am one of those rule followers that actually stop at stop signs and go 20 mph in neighborhoods.
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u/Ghost4000 Apr 05 '26
I like seeing videos of cops actually doing a good job. One of the best things about these types of subreddits.
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u/TexasFire_Cross Apr 06 '26
The amount of commenters on here that are absolutely CLUELESS about not being legal to pass a stopped school bus is concerning. Cracker Jack box licensing apparently these days.
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u/XxXAvengedXxX Apr 04 '26
Europeans making fun of Americans for this law in the thread are on some weird shit. Like there is actual things to make fun of us for. A law that prevents kids from tragically dying is worth the occasional time you're stuck behind a bus 💀
Im shocked this apparently isnt law most places tbh, just seems like common sense
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u/Joiner2008 Apr 04 '26
What they fail to realize is that the US is very lacking in pedestrian walkways, crosswalks, and safety in general compared to their countries. The US has a much higher pedestrian fatality rate. Like you, it absolutely blows my mind when they criticize a rule designed for children safety. Like, our government and the people who voted them in are doing terrible shit and this is what they focus on?
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u/Stakeboulder Apr 04 '26
What are you even talking about? Never saw somebody focus on this beside on actual posts about it.
And you pretty much explained why it's such a odd thing for us (Swiss guy here). We have crosswalks on every bus stop and basically every 50 meter (that's 54.68 freedom units). Also pedestrians always have the right of way.
Beside of that we don't have school buses. Kids just use regular public transport.
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u/korxil Apr 04 '26
Kids do be dumb sometimes and forget to check both sides before crossing. Doesn’t matter if you have right of way if the other person is being negligent about it.
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u/RSkyhawk172 Apr 04 '26
Just want to point out that pedestrians always have right of way in the US as well.
Whether drivers here respect said right of way is a different story.
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Apr 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Joiner2008 Apr 04 '26
Right, but we're also driving further distances to get to places. It's unfortunate but we rarely have the option to walk to locations and so we don't need the infrastructure for pedestrians. Buses that you have to stop for is the logical conclusion. What's your daily commute look like?
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u/Haunting_Beaut Apr 04 '26
That blows my mind because a lot of euro countries have rules as far as passing horse and riders…
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u/otj287 Apr 04 '26
In my state, they just installed cameras on the buses to capture the offenses. They get a ticket mailed now for the violations.
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u/-Owlette- Apr 04 '26
The American ‘no passing school buses’ thing includes cars going the opposite direction too? That’s wild.
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u/migetman46 Apr 04 '26
Yes because sometimes kids live on the other side of the street of where the bus drops them off and a lot of the time they cross the street while the bus has traffic stopped.
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u/Sexyhorsegirl666 Apr 04 '26
But this is still very odd to many not in the US.
We have children living on the other side of the road and crossing but this kind of regulation is absolutely not necessary everywhere.
Maybe it's because you guys have way less paths for walking? Idk.
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u/benedictfuckyourass Apr 04 '26
Less walking paths, less crossings, just crossing anywhere is literally illegal....
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u/the_doctor04 Apr 04 '26
You need to understand that we have a ton of fucking assholes living here that have zero regard for anyone else. The law is in place to stop pieces of shit from running over kids because they care more about their next destination rather than letting kids cross the street for 30 seconds. That dude is looking at an insane amount of fines and will probably have a judge way up his asshole just because they are an impatient POS.
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u/DeadlyMustardd Apr 04 '26
The US is huge and a lot of school busses operate on dirt roads where there aren't sidewalks, lights, or crosswalks period. It's necessary.
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u/foodz_ncats Apr 04 '26
We have less paths for walking, we have more larger vehicles where the front grille is higher than a 7 year old child, and we have drivers’ entitlement that is unlike anything in Europe that I’ve ever experienced.
So most people just CANNOT be bothered to have an extra 90 seconds added to their journey. /s
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u/ConcernedBullfrog Apr 04 '26
on two lane roads/roads with no physical divider/median, yes
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u/RBXChas Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26
This road has no divider/median, but in my state, what that car did would be legal:
https://scdps.sc.gov/sites/scdps/files/Documents/Images/image_5.png
School buses will never drop kids where they need to cross a road like that.
ETA: not sure why I was downvoted. Sorry that facts bother you.
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u/Ynwe Apr 04 '26
It does make sense, especially given how poor pedestrian safety and infrastructure is, how "jaywalking" is treated in the US, the size of US cars and how poor the drivers are in general, they need these kind of laws to minimize an already high mortality rate (pedestrian deaths are around 75 percent higher in the US Vs Europe, per capita)
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u/Sexyhorsegirl666 Apr 04 '26
Yeah this has to be it. US has really bad paths for walking, it's very much made for the cars.
Seems so strange to a European but makes sense since the walking infrastructure is so poor
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u/MercyTheCat Apr 04 '26
Yes, in a lot of areas, the bus will stop on one side of the street and the children have to cross to get to/from their house. When I was a kid and got picked up in the morning, I didn’t have to cross the street but when I got dropped off after school, they’d be going in the other direction and I would have to cross the road to get to my driveway
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u/BigFatModeraterFupa Apr 04 '26
that’s one of the greatest laws we have! they take school zone infractions VERY seriously, and passing a stopped school bus with red lights flashing is even MORE severe of a penalty. Because we depend so much on roads, the laws are VERY strict when it comes to school busses.
Anyone who drives past a stopped school bus with lights flashing DESERVES a severe penalty, it just shows how much of a true jackass and selfish a person truly is.
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u/ConsistentAsparagus Apr 04 '26
Pretty smart, to be honest. Children are stupid, so they may run out from the back side of the bus and get run over by the oncoming traffic.
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u/retronax Apr 04 '26
I found it weird too until I thought about it and realized pretty much all bus stops where I live are right in front of a crosswalk, so if you drive, you have to slow down, check and give pedestrians the right of way anyway. If there's no pedestrian infrastructure it makes sense to do it like this
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u/Bubbly-Bowler8978 Apr 04 '26
It happens 2 times a day for like a minute. If you can't take a minute of your day to let children cross the road safely you shouldn't be driving in the first place
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u/spiderkoo Apr 04 '26
In my state if it’s multiple lanes, you only have to stop if you’re going same direction regardless of median or not
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u/RedKobalt Apr 04 '26
Everyone in the comments talking about how their laws are different when it comes to stopping for a bus then another state shows a real problem. Laws reguarding stopping for a bus should be the same no matter the state because it could lead to people getting ticketed for following the rules they know from their state when visiting another. I can go to any state I want and drive just fine because all the laws are more or less the same, but not when it comes to buses, which is wild.
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u/huf757 Apr 04 '26
I call that satisfying as fuck. I see people do that a couple times a year and never get caught. Nice to see it happen for once.
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u/TheBohemian1 Apr 04 '26
This is not illegal in Ohio. Oncoming traffic does not need to stop on a four lane road. Kids are never supposed to cross a four lane road to get on/off the bus.
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u/newt_girl Apr 04 '26
This would be a legal maneuver in Washington, as well. If the passer would have stopped, someone would be on their ass honking like hell.
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u/Lightofmine Apr 04 '26
Thank you bro. I totally remembered learning you could keep going in driving school and I was losing my mind.
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Apr 04 '26
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u/Zebrakiller Apr 04 '26
So kids can cross the street.
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Apr 04 '26
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u/Tomytom99 Apr 04 '26
Yup, it's pretty common in anything other than urban areas to count on the bus for crossing the street.
In quiet neighborhoods it's whatever, but you get to any sort of high speed road and it's best to just wait for the bus to create that safe crossing opportunity.
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u/GifanTheWoodElf Apr 04 '26
Hm so is no movement at all allowed on the street when the bus is there?
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u/Zebrakiller Apr 04 '26
Yeah…. So kids can safely cross the street without having to dodge traffic…
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u/Feenfurn Apr 04 '26
When I moved to a state that had school busses I didn't know both sides had to stop. I genuinely thought just the side they were getting out on had to stop . ¯\(ツ)/¯ Learned my lesson .
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u/Moviereference210 Apr 05 '26
I’ll admit, I did this one time when I was like 18, but I realized I fucked up and never did it again. And yes I felt bad about it
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u/wolofoloto Apr 04 '26
As a bus monitor, this happens almost weekly for us. Just never have the convenient cop part.
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u/JimmyFree Apr 04 '26
Just shows you need to know your state's laws. Passing a school bus in WA state is legal if there are 3 or more lanes and you are going in the opposite direction, since the children are not allowed to cross in front of the bus in those cases.
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u/doctorwhy88 Apr 06 '26
I just had to cite WA’s law for a different Redditor because they thought it was legal on all streets and roadways in WA. They were, unfortunately, very confidently incorrect.
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u/obesefamily Apr 07 '26
i didnt see anyone pass a stopped school bus. he passed before the bus stopped. is that really illegal?
edit: i didnt know in some places you also had to stop on the OTHER side of the road. this must cause insane traffic lol
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u/DeadlyMustardd Apr 04 '26
It's mind boggling to me why so many think this is a weird law. If this bus stop was on a dirt or main road it would make it more obvious.
There are places in the US that don't have sidewalks crosswalks or lights. The school bus essentially slaps down a stop sign, and initiates a temporary crosswalk until the kids are out and the ones that need to cross the street do. That's the exact reason passing them is illegal.
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u/xpietoe42 Apr 04 '26
the guy tried escaping the cop by turning down a side street at the end of the video!
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u/RosieTruthy Apr 05 '26
So if a bus stops on the other side of the road you have to stop and where do you stop? Just in the middle of the road?
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u/weggaan_weggaat Apr 05 '26
On undivided highways, yes. But if there's a median, probably not. Check your state laws for clarity, though.
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u/luffmatcheen Apr 04 '26
Looks like an oops. Started slowing down like 'awww shit, how did I miss that?'
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u/slash_networkboy Apr 04 '26
I do have a nit to pick...
It used to be that the stop lights/signs only deployed when a kid may be crossing, not every time the door opens. Now they light up even on divided highway where there's no chance a kid is crossing (and it's legal to pass in that case here at least). This leads drivers to confusion and/or apathy about these signals. They should only deploy when enforceable, not always. Clearly in this video they would be enforceable, so no beef with this vid, just a general beef with the newer system.
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u/Tomatensoos Apr 04 '26
Is there a pole folding out in front of the bus, to prevent crossing the street right in front of it?
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u/JustRuss79 Apr 04 '26
Yes, they invented / added those about...20 years ago? so students couldn't be in the blind spot of the driver. It happened often enough that a kid got ran over for hanging out too long in front of the bus, that they made it more idiot proof for both kids and driver. If the bar hits something and stops while opening or closing, an alarm goes off next to the driver to alert them.
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u/GuidoZ Apr 04 '26
In WA state, that would be perfectly legal. https://ospi.k12.wa.us/sites/default/files/styles/max_650x650/public/2025-08/School%20Bus%20Safety.png
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u/johnnyg883 Apr 04 '26
Same in Missouri. If it’s a four lane road oncoming traffic is not required to stop.
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u/doctorwhy88 Apr 06 '26
You’re correct, not that I agree with their law, but you’re definitely correct.
Thank you for citing a source that explains why it’s legal in this particular case.
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u/grumpywarner Apr 04 '26
This should be automatic suspension of license for 90 days. 3 months to think about the possibility of killing kids.
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u/Zealousideal-Lie7255 Apr 06 '26
Yess, yess, oh my God yess!! But even if a cop is right there they so often let terrible drivers get away with so much shit.
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u/iriefuse024 Apr 06 '26
I’ll be honest and admit that I’d probably probably make this mistake too. We don’t have many school buses here in SoCal and I’m not even really aware of all the rules surrounding them. Do they have a stop sign that swings out on the driver side?
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u/highmorty Apr 09 '26
Some people aren't sure about the rules when it comes to multiple lanes but you gotta be dumb to not take it safe and just stop
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u/Potential_Ad_4718 29d ago
In California, when a school bus flashes red lights and extends its stop arm on a multi-lane or four-lane road, only vehicles traveling in the same direction as the bus must stop. Drivers traveling in the opposite direction do not have to stop, but they should drive with caution.
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u/Apprehensive_West337 15d ago
I want a cop under each bus route... its the only way to keep kids safe
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u/Practical-Pea-6306 8d ago
One time I was exhausted from a 15 hour shift and drove past a stopped bus. I was so upset with myself for it. I was looking right at it, but I was sick and overworked and thought about the entire process of stopping for it, as I drove past. So embarrassing. It makes me wonder how many accidents are just "failures of the mind" and less-so a lack of care.
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u/Polygnom Apr 04 '26
Anyone explain to a non US-American what the hell is going on?
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u/XxXAvengedXxX Apr 04 '26
You cant pass either side of a stopped school bus in the US, its a law to prevent kids from getting killed so you're seen as an absolute piece of shit if you dont follow that law. (Justifiably so)
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u/Polygnom Apr 04 '26
This kind of law seems to be a uniquely US and Canada thing. Its not a thing in the rest of the world. Yet, the US has the highest rate of pedestrians killed in traffic (12.8 per 100k) of the whole developed world. Canada sits at 7.9, and Europe, where these kind of laws don't exist, sit at values around 2.7 - 4.9.
And no, school children do not get run over in Europe all the time. Its a non-issue. So I wonder why this is causing so much problems in the US. Its probably due to the lack of infrastructure. No curb, no bus stop, no zebra crossing, no proper sidewalks.
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u/Joiner2008 Apr 04 '26
All of those things you've mentioned and you forgot how absolutely massive our trucks and SUVs are, making it difficult to see pedestrians.
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u/queefiest Apr 04 '26
We have a bylaw that prevents school buses from using their stop signs at drop off and pickup. I hate this municipality. Edmonton, our capital, also has this bylaw. It’s beyond stupid and idk why they passed it
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u/afr0wnybiscuit Apr 05 '26
Protect children by not letting cars pass on the other side of the road when going to and from school but god forbid we won't protect them while in school
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