Longview Police Draw Attention to School Bus Safety Laws

LONGVIEW — The Longview Police Department reminds drivers to use caution when they approach or pass, from either direction, a school bus, especially loading and unloading. State law prohibits drivers from passing school buses when the bus is operating a visual signal. The driver of a vehicle shall stop before reaching the school bus when the bus is operating a visual signal and may not proceed until: the school bus resumes motion; the operator is signaled by the bus driver to proceed; or the visual signal is no longer actuated.

The driver of a vehicle is not required to stop if the highway has separate roadways and the bus is on a different roadway. The law defines a separate roadway as a roadway that has intervening space or where vehicles are not permitted to drive, a physical barrier, or clearly indicated section constructed to impede vehicular flow, such as a concrete or grassy median. A highway is NOT CONSIDERED to have separate roadways if the roadway is only separated by a left turn lane.