What Is the Virginia School Bus Stop Law?

In Virginia, you must stop for any stopped school bus that has flashing red lights and an extended stop sign when you approach from any direction on a highway, private road or school driveway. You must stop and remain stopped until all children are clear and the bus moves again.
Drivers often are unaware that the law in Virginia requires drivers to stop when a school bus is loading or unloading children.
In fact, Virginia has two laws that address this particular issue. One is a reckless driving statute and the other is traffic infraction statute. Both laws carry a six demerit points per the Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

The Virginia reckless driving statute is codified under VA 46.2-859. A conviction of this Virginia school bus stop law is a class 1 misdemeanor in Virginia. It carries the actual possibility of going to jail, a six months suspension of your driving privilege in Virginia and a maximum fine of $2500.

The second law rega

rding stopping for a school bus is VA 46.2-844. The penalty if convicted under this Virginia school bus stop law is six demerit points on your Virginia DMV driving record and a maximum fine of $250.

In a nutshell, this is the best way to explain the Virginia school bus stop law:

In Virginia, you must stop for any stopped school bus that has flashing red lights and an extended stop sign when you approach from any direction on a highway, private road or school driveway. You must stop and remain stopped until all children are clear and the bus moves again. You do not have to stop if you are traveling in the opposite direction on a roadway with a median or barrier dividing the road and the bus is on the opposite side of the median or barrier.

If you have been charged with violating either of the two Virginia school bus stop laws, speak to a Virginia traffic attorney about your criminal traffic ticket to see what your options are.