Defensive Driving · Driver Training VideoSchool Zones & School Buses

Why it matters

Children are small, fast, and unpredictable. They dart out between parked cars, chase a ball, or step off the curb without looking. And from the seat of a truck, a child can disappear completely.

So in a school zone, slow down to the posted limit. Watch for the school zone signs and the flashing yellow beacons. The lower limit applies during the posted times, or when the lights are flashing. It's often fifteen to twenty-five miles per hour, but drive whatever is posted.

Crossing guards

When a crossing guard holds up that stop sign, you stop. Their signal must be obeyed. Stop well back from the crosswalk, not on top of it. Never roll through or creep forward while kids are in the crosswalk. Wait until every child has fully cleared, all the way to the far curb.

School buses

Learn the lights. Flashing yellow means the bus is preparing to stop. Slow down and get ready to stop. Flashing red with the stop arm out means stop. Every state makes it illegal to pass a school bus that's stopped with its red lights flashing.

The area around a stopped bus is a danger zone. That's where children get hit, getting on and getting off. A child who drops a paper may run back for it, right in front of you. So even after the lights go off, move slowly and keep scanning.

Your attention

The federal ban on hand-held phones and texting for commercial drivers applies everywhere, and that includes when you're stopped behind a bus. In a school zone, don't even glance at the ELD screen or a dispatch message while you're moving. Eyes out the windshield.

Two more habits

Never honk to hurry children along. A horn can startle a child into running the wrong way. And don't wave kids across the street. You can't see what's coming in the other lane. Let the crossing guard do that job.

Plan ahead

Know the school arrival and dismissal times along your route, and plan around them when you can. Delivering in a neighborhood near a school? Those streets fill with kids before and after classes. And if you have to back up anywhere near a school, get out and look, every time.