Each year, school children are needlessly injured and killed by drivers who ignore school bus warning lights. With schools returning to session, now is the time to familiarize all drivers about the laws that protect children as they load and unload from school busses.

Pennsylvania's School Bus Stopping Law is very clear:

-Motorists must stop at least 10 feet away from school buses that have their red lights flashing and stop arm extended.

-Motorists must stop when they are behind a bus, meeting the bus, or approaching an intersection where a bus is stopped.

-Motorists following or traveling alongside a school bus must also stop until the red lights have stopped flashing, the stop arm is withdrawn, and all children have reached safety.

-If physical barriers such as grassy medians, guide rails or concrete median barriers separate oncoming traffic from the bus, motorists in the opposing lanes may proceed without stopping.

-Do not proceed until all the children have reached a place of safety.

The West Grove Fire Company urges everyone to be conscious of school bus safety laws. Parents should take time to review these rules with all drivers in the household -- we all share the responsibility to keep school children safe!

For more information, see: https://www.penndot.pa.gov/TravelInPA/Safety/TrafficSafetyAndDriverTopics/pages/school-bus-safety.aspx and https://www.dot.state.pa.us/Public/DVSPubsForms/BDL/BDL%20Publications/Pub%2097.pdf