What does it mean when a school bus is stopped on a roadway and its red lights are flashing?
- You may pass if no children are on the road.
- You may not pass. ✓
- You may pass if you are facing the front of the bus.
- You may pass if it is on the opposite side of a divided highway.
Answer: B. You may not pass.
When a school bus is stopped with its red lights flashing, you may not pass it — traffic coming from either direction must stop.
Why this is the answer
The manual says that when a stopped school bus flashes its red lights, traffic approaching from either direction must stop before reaching the bus, including in front of a school and in school parking lots. It also tells you to stop at least 20 feet away. So passing is not allowed while those red lights are on, no matter which direction you approach from. You stay stopped until the bus moves again or the bus driver or a traffic officer signals you to go.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. You may pass if no children are on the road. — The rule depends on the flashing red lights, not on whether you happen to see children in the road, so an empty-looking roadway does not make passing legal.
- C. You may pass if you are facing the front of the bus. — Approaching from the front does not create an exception — the manual requires traffic from either direction to stop, even in front of the school.
- D. You may pass if it is on the opposite side of a divided highway. — Nothing in these passages says a divided highway lets you pass a stopped bus with flashing red lights; the manual says traffic from either direction must stop.
Remember it
Red means stop and stay put: think of the flashing red lights as a stop sign you cannot roll past in either direction.
Official handbook: New York State Driver's Manual (MV-21), Chapter 6: Passing – School Buses