School Bus Law
Launch the media gallery 1 playerSchool Bus Safety
In Illinois, the law for Approaching, Overtaking, and Passing a School Bus is included in the Illinois Vehicle Code under 625 ILCS 5/11-1414. The law requires a driver to stop before meeting or overtaking, from either direction, any school bus stopped on a highway, roadway, private road, parking lot, school property, or at any other location, including, without limitation, a location that is not a highway or roadway stopped for the purpose of loading or unloading students. The stop is required if the school bus is displaying visual signals and the driver should not proceed until the visuals signals cease, the school bus resumes motion, or the school bus driver signals the vehicle to proceed. A limited exception to this rule applies on 4 or more lane highways that have a least 2 lanes of traffic in opposite directions. On these roads, a driver need not stop if the driver is traveling in the opposite direction of the school bus. If a driver is traveling in the same direction as the school bus, the driver still must stop. The Illinois Secretary of State will suspend the driver’s license of anyone convicted of the violating this law for a period of three months. In addition, the court will impose a minimum $150 fine for a first offense. A second or subsequent conviction of this offense within five years of the first conviction will result in a one-year driver’s license suspension and a minimum mandatory $500 fine.