By: Dayna Roselli
I have covered this in my Driving You Crazy segment a couple times… but it continues to confuse people. So I thought I would blog it!
Nevada law states you must stop for a school bus when it puts on its flashers and stops. You must stop — EVEN if you are driving in the opposite direction!
Here’s the catch… YOU DON’T have to STOP if you are driving in the opposite direction on a divided highway or roadway.
Here is the actual law written out, word for word:
NRS 484.357 Overtaking and passing school bus; penalty. 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, the driver of any vehicle upon a highway, street or road, when meeting or overtaking, from either direction, any school bus, equipped with signs and signals required by law, which has stopped on the highway, street or road to receive or discharge any pupil and is displaying a flashing red light signal visible from the front and rear, shall bring his vehicle to an immediate stop and shall not attempt to overtake or proceed past the school bus until the flashing red signal ceases operation. 2. The driver of a vehicle upon a divided highway need not stop upon meeting or passing a school bus which is positioned in the other roadway. The driver of a vehicle need not stop upon meeting or passing a school bus where traffic is controlled by a traffic officer. 3. Any person who violates any of the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and: (a) For a third or any subsequent offense within 2 years after the most recent offense, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 and his driver’s license must be suspended for not more than 1 year. (b) For a second offense within 1 year after the first offense, shall be punished by a fine of not less than $250 nor more than $500 and his driver’s license must be suspended for 6 months. (c) For a first offense or any subsequent offense for which a punishment is not provided for in paragraph (a) or (b), shall be punished by a fine of not less than $250 nor more than $500.
The problem is… many people DO not stop… or try and get by the bus at the last minute. You really shouldn’t do this… and you WILL get a ticket if caught.
By the way… since we’re on this topic… a reminder to stop and safely pull to the side for emergency vehicles too!
Gosh, have you ever driven and watched an ambulance or fire truck drive by… and people just continue to drive… or slam on their breaks in the middle of the road! It’s crazy. It’s like people scatter all over the place, making the situation worse. Safely, look around you… and slow down… then pull as far to the side as you can.
I think this rule appplies everywhere, not just Nevada…. so no, we can’t use the old excuse, “drivers in Las Vegas are from all over, they don’t know the rules.”
I wish we had the flashing lights law, and the stop when you see them along with lower speed limits near schools, here in the UK.
At this time of year it’s dark when kids are getting off the buses and I watch drivers driving by far too quickly on so many occasions it’s just so dangerous.
Most people would consider hurting a child as one of the worst things a person could ever do but they sometimes don’t connect that with their driving.
Comment by driving course — January 14, 2008 @ 10:09 am
Twice in the last week a Car has sped by a stopped school bus with sign and red light flashing. There is nobody on this planet who is more important than children boarding a school bus!
People pull your heads out of your cell phones and away from whatever else you are doing between 6:30 and 9:15 in the am and 1:45 to 4:00 pm. I have reported people to the LVMPD and Clark County school bus drivers can Cite you for passing this red light.
Pull to the right if you see an emergency service vehicle in your rear view. The only exception is if you are on the opposite side of a dividing wall.
We should make traffic school mandatory every 5 years - oh wait that would be too much of a strain on the county. So their answer is “let the police manage” oh wait we don’t have enough of them either.
So why are we letting more people Move in? Oh that’s right G R E E D
Comment by Angry — January 22, 2008 @ 5:39 pm
Dayna,
The NRS states divided “Highway” but your comments said “divided highway or roadway”. Is Nevada’s definition of Highway include roadway? Also what is considered a “divided” highway/roadway? obiviously I15/I95 is divided, but what about major BLVD’s that are divided by mediums with concrete curbs between directions, are those considered divided? I consider those “divided” but does the state consider those divided???
Please clarify if possible, thanks!
Comment by Rick — February 5, 2008 @ 9:26 am
Yes Rick- a divided highway includes surface streets… major roads that have a median ( not just painted lines or raised pavement markings)
You do not need to stop if you are heading in the OPPOSITE direction as the bus.
Hope this helps!
Comment by Dayna — February 5, 2008 @ 9:30 am
Dayna, I would like to know why there is not a 4 way
stop and the corner of Harmon and Cameron… Burke
School is on the corner plus you have the Bus Yard and
the Casino traffic. The stop is for traffic going East and West with the traffic going North and South able to go through. It takes forever to cross Cameron, plus there is a blind spot at the Corner of Harmon if you are heading West………Thanks for
reading this…
Comment by Jackie Haywood — April 1, 2008 @ 3:46 pm
HI Jackie! Ggood news… there is a project planned this year for Harmon– and a TRAFFIC SIGNAL planned for that location. Here’s the list for 2008:
http://www.co.clark.nv.us/pubworks/county_projects/2008CCPWProjectList.pdf
Comment by Dayna — April 2, 2008 @ 10:28 am