Can I go around a stopped school bus without getting a ticket? What WA law says
When you’re driving and come across a stopped school bus with its red lights flashing and its stop sign out, you may not know what to do.
Do you need to stop as well, or is it OK to keep going?
In Washington, the answer depends on which way you’re heading and the type of road you’re on.
Here’s a quick guide for when you need to stop and what could happen if you break the rules:
When do I need to stop for a stopped school bus in Washington?
If you’re following behind a school bus, you always need to stop when it’s stopped to let students on or off.
“All drivers traveling in the same direction as the bus must stop when the red lights flash, and the stop sign is extended,” according to the Washington Driver Guide.
The same goes if you’re on a two-lane road, no matter which direction you’re going. In that case, “all vehicles must stop when the red lights flash and the stop sign extends,” the driver guide said.
The rules are different for roads with three or more lanes and for “divided highways” that have, for example, medians or barriers, according to state law and the driver guide.
In those cases, oncoming drivers don’t have to stop.
Still, even if you aren’t required by law to stop for a bus, you should be careful, said Washington State Patrol Trooper John Dattilo, who’s assigned to Thurston and Pierce counties.
“We’re about halfway through August now, and as we approach the upcoming school year, the safety of our kids is first and foremost,” Dattilo told McClatchy. “That is why this law exists. It minimizes the opportunity for a collision to happen.”
Can I get a ticket if I don’t stop for a school bus?
Drivers who unlawfully pass a stopped school bus face a ticket with a costly price tag.
A violation could cost $500, according to the Centralia law firm Althauser Rayan Abbarno.
There are other potential consequences, too, officials said.
Getting on and off the bus “is the most dangerous time for a student going to and from school,” Patti Enbody, director of student transportation for the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, told McClatchy.
Some school districts in Washington took part earlier this year in a national one-day survey to count drivers illegally passing school buses, Enbody said. More than 1,150 violations were counted.
Nationwide, 67,258 illegal passings were counted, and “adjusting for 100% of the school bus drivers in the U.S., we would have seen just over 218,000 illegal passings,” according to the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, which coordinates the survey.
‘When in doubt, just stop’
Dattilo, the state trooper, said his advice for drivers is this: “When in doubt, just stop.”
He added that, “we want kids to be able to cross safely, we want school bus drivers to be safe, and we want drivers around them to be safe.”
This story was originally published August 14, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Can I go around a stopped school bus without getting a ticket? What WA law says."
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