Traffic Talk: What do all those flashing yellow and red lights mean on school buses?

Follow on Twitter
on August 22, 2011 at 6:06 AM, updated August 26, 2011 at 3:16 PM
schoolbus1.jpgStudents wave goodbye as the last school bus departs Wyoming's Jackson Park Intermediate School for summer vacation in June.

The majority of the state's schools don't start until Sept. 6, the day after Labor Day, but those with alternative calendars already have students hitting the books and, of interest to Traffic Talk readers, riding the bus.

Judging by the large number of reader questions on this issue, a refresher is a good thing. I think commenter jrotten put it succinctly, if not the most politely:

Do a story about the lights on a school bus and when (it) is required to stop vs. slow. Most of the (dumbbells) don't know what to do and just freak out when they see a school bus. Oh my god, flashing lights!!!!! Oh-no!! EEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRR as they slam on the brakes.
Traffic safety expert Michigan State Police Sgt. Mike Church was happy to help. He said most of the questions people have can be answered by reading a Q&A posted on the Michigan State Police website or a 53-page slide show on the state's website.

Let's start with the lights:

What do you do when you see flashing hazard lights on a bus, the ones positioned by the tail lights? Proceed with caution.

These are called “Hazard light stops” and are allowed in some situations where students will not be crossing the road. Motorists are allowed to pass the bus, but are urged to be alert: Children are unpredictable.

What about those flashing yellow lights on top of the bus? Prepare to stop.

Newer buses have flashing yellow (the state calls them “amber”) as well as flashing red lights. Bus drivers are required to trigger the yellow lights 200 feet before their stop as a warning to motorists, similar to a yellow light on a traffic signal. Once the bus stops, the red lights go on and all traffic must stop.

And the familiar red flashing lights, sometimes accompanied by the automatic stop sign on the side of the bus? Just plain stop.

However, bus drivers must trigger whatever light system they have 200 feet before their stop. So, if it's an older bus without the yellow warning lights, the red lights will go on early while the bus is still moving. If that's the case, stop immediately if you can do so safely.

“In other words, if you are approaching a school bus that is still moving and displaying overhead red flashing lights, you should prepare to stop. But if you are at a point so close to the bus that you cannot stop safely, you are not required to stop,” the handy Q&A reads. “Once the bus stops, everyone is required to stop.”

This should answer the question posed by Dan in an email:

“I regularly travel along a one-way city street behind a school bus on my way to work in the morning. The bus driver stops to pick up children along the street along the right hand lane. ... There is a freeway exit on the left and no houses – the children always get on the bus from the right. The bus driver turns on the yellow flashing lights, but not the red lights and stop sign. I always stop, but the driver always waves me by. I see children do get on the bus at this stop, but often the driver is waiting for the children.

“Since this area regularly has police patrols, I am concerned that the bus driver is bending some rules and I will be ticketed for passing the bus, or I will be ticketed for impeding traffic for not passing. Should the driver either put on the lights or not?”

According to the Q&A cited above and Church, the bus driver is not bending any rules. Dan, you can pass with caution.

“You only have to stop if it's the red lights,” Church said.

Susan in Jenison asked about school buses on five lane roads where the center lane is a turn lane. Turning to MCL 257.682 of the Michigan Vehicle Code, also cited by Church, traffic in both directions must stop if the red lights are signaled.

“If it's just a turn lane, then they have to stop,” Church said. “If there is something physically dividing it like a median wall, they can keep going.”

Phil, a reader in Ann Arbor, asked a question about meeting a school bus at a three-way intersection with a three-way stop.

“My wife and I were wondering if it's legal to pass a school bus that has its lights and stop sign protruding IF it's on the street intersecting the one you're on,” Phil wrote.

Sorry, Phil, Church says the answer is no. Again citing MCL 257.682, he said any vehicle “overtaking or meeting a school bus” must stop when the red lights are flashing.

“I would say that the intersection falls under 'meeting,'” Church said.

Addressing a question that came up in a previous Traffic Talk column about emergency vehicle protocol, Church said there is nothing in the Michigan Vehicle Code exempting emergency vehicles from following the same school bus rules as every other motorist.

And one final question. A reader named Don wonders how long the “school zone” is that reduces the speed limit to 25 mph.


“When you get to a school zone with flashing lights for reduced speed, is the zone from one sign to the other; or from the sign to the school?” he asked.

Church cited the “school zone statute” at MCL 257.627 and the “Michigan Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.” (Looks like the MMUTCD is on the clearance shelf if you're looking for a deal.)

The manual reads: “The end of an authorized and posted school speed zone shall be marked with a standard Speed Limit sign showing the speed limit for the section of highway that follows or with an END SCHOOL ZONE sign.”

“So the school zone speed limit goes from sign to sign,” Church said.

There you have it, Don, don't hit the accelerator until you get to the next sign.

Next week I plan to tackle sharing the roads with bicycles. The questions are plentiful. I'm sure it won't be the only column addressing the issue.

In the meantime, if you have a question for Traffic Talk, either leave a comment below or send an email to

E-mail Cami Reister: and follow her on Twitter at