What should you do when there is a school bus ahead that starts flashing yellow warning lights?
- Slow down and prepare to stop. ✓
- Stop immediately and remain stopped.
- Cautiously pass the school bus on the left.
Answer: A. Slow down and prepare to stop.
When a school bus ahead starts flashing yellow warning lights, slow down and prepare to stop.
Why this is the answer
The California Driver Handbook says some school buses flash yellow lights when they are getting ready to stop and let children off. Those yellow lights are a warning, so your job is to ease off the gas and get ready to stop. The handbook ties the required stop to the bus's red lights, when you must remain stopped until the children are safely across and the lights stop flashing. That is why the yellow phase calls for slowing and preparing rather than stopping on the spot or going around.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. Stop immediately and remain stopped. — Stopping immediately and staying stopped goes beyond a warning, since the handbook ties the required stop to the bus's red lights, not the yellow ones.
- C. Cautiously pass the school bus on the left. — Cautiously passing on the left is wrong because the yellow lights tell you the bus is preparing to stop for children, so you should slow and prepare to stop rather than try to get past it.
Remember it
Yellow means get ready; red means stop and stay stopped.