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.”