Bus safety starts with you

When you see a school bus with flashing yellow lights, stop. Lives are at stake. 

School buses turn on their yellow lights within 200 feet of a scheduled stop. When you see the lights on, prepare to stop. Golf Carts are included as motor vehicles that must stop for school bus stop arms. 

During a one day survey of school bus stop arm violations in Fayette County last spring, bus drivers counted 67 times a vehicle driver illegally passed a stop arm on local roadways. This occurred in areas all over the county while Highway 314, Peachtree Parkway, and South GA-85 were particular hotspots. 

Fayette County school bus stop arms have been struck by vehicles illegally passing the bus 8 times in 2025 alone. All school system buses are equipped with forward and rear facing license plate cameras to catch and provide evidence to law enforcement of illegal school bus passes. 

The Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety estimates Georgia drivers illegally pass school buses at stops over 9,000 times per day. 

Georgia law changed in 2024 after a Henry County student was killed by an illegally passing motorist. New penalties for the first time a driver illegally passes a stopped school bus include: Minimum fine of $1,000 for the first offense; potential jail time of up to 12 months; 6 points added to drivers license; and insurance company notified of the conviction. 

When motorists must stop for a school bus: 

– Two-lane roadway: When school bus stops for passengers, ALL traffic from both directions must stop.

– Two-lane roadway with a center turning lane: When school bus stops for passengers, ALL traffic from both directions must stop.

– Divided highway of four lanes or more with a median separation: When school bus stops for passengers, only traffic following the bus must stop.

– Four-lane roadway without a median separation: When school bus stops for passengers, ALL traffic from both directions must stop.

– Roadway of four lanes or more with a center turning lane: When school bus stops for passengers, ALL traffic from both directions must stop.