Yellow lights on school buses: slow down and prepare to stop

Wyoming Highway Patrol Lieutenant Erik Jorngesen made an appearance on Sheridan Meida’s Public Pulse to once again inform the public that motorists of Sheridan County must stop in both directions of travel when a school bus begins to flash its red lights and deploys the Stop-Arm. 

Here in the Cowboy State, motorists meeting or overtaking from either direction any stopped school bus, must stop before reaching the school bus when the bus’s flashing red lights and Stop-Arm are in operation. The driver must not proceed until the stopped bus resumes travel and the flashing red lights and Stop-Arm are no longer in operation.

Although every local law enforcement agency has warned the public of this dangerous action, Jorgenson said it continues to happen. 

Lt. E. Jorgenson 

Once again, the numbers shared by Jorgenson only reflect the alerts sent to the Wyoming Highway Patrol, those numbers do not include buses on city streets or Sheridan County roads under the jurisdiction of the Sheriff’s Office. 

The Lieutenant receives reports that some motorists see the yellow or amber warning lights and believe they should pass the school bus before it stops. This is not true and a dangerous practice. The amber lights are a warning to motorists that the bus is preparing to stop. By the time motorists see the amber lights engage, it’s too late to pass the bus. 

Lt. E. Jorgenson 

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services 2019 Stop Arm survey showed that 130,963 school bus drivers reported that 95,319 vehicles passed their buses illegally on a single day during the 2018-19 school year. Throughout a 180-day school year, these sample results point to more than 17 million violations among America’s motoring public.