To Pass or Not to Pass?

A good reminder from contributing writer and Chief of Police Mark Kissel. He has served the Cherokee County School District since 1999.

With school scheduled to begin on Aug. 1, I wanted to remind you about Georgia law and school buses. The law requires the driver of a vehicle overtaking a school bus with visual signals activated or meeting a school bus with visual signals activated on a roadway that does not have a divided median (with either a dirt, grass or concrete barrier), to stop and the driver must not proceed past the bus until the bus has resumed motion or the visual signals are no longer activated (see the diagrams). In some jurisdictions, the term “visual signals” has been interpreted by the courts to include the flashing amber (warning) lights. I am aware that citations have been issued in these jurisdictions if the amber lights were flashing and the bus was stopped in readiness of activating the stop-arm.

I hope this information will be useful for anyone driving a motor vehicle during the hours when our school buses are transporting children.