National School Bus Safety Week is October 19-23, 2026. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Airport Corridor Transportation Association (ACTA) are urging drivers to slow down around school buses and stop when the school bus stop-arms are out and the red lights are flashing. School buses are one of the safest modes of transportation. However, injuries and fatalities do occur outside of or near the buses. This is often caused by a motorist who has failed to slow down and obey the bus’s stop sign, or to follow local traffic laws, stopping is the law whether approaching from the front or rear of the school bus. Nationally, school bus passing is illegal, and it poses a deadly risk to bus riders, child pedestrians, and their caregivers. Drivers should always come to a complete stop when a school bus stop-arm is extended, and the red lights are flashing.
From 2015 to 2024, there were 1.5 times more fatalities among pedestrians (162) than occupants of school buses (119) in school-bus-related traffic crashes. A total of 204 school-age children (18 and younger) died in school-bus-related crashes during that period, either as occupants of school buses or other vehicles, or on foot or bike. Of those deaths, 77 were pedestrians. From 2000 to 2024, there were 63 fatalities in crashes that involved a driver illegally passing a stopped school bus, an average of 2.5 fatalities a year. Almost half of those fatalities (27) were pedestrians who were 18 years old or younger.
When a school bus’s red lights are flashing and the stop-arm is extended, drivers have a legal responsibility to slow down and come to a complete stop. In fact, yellow flashing lights indicate the bus is preparing to stop to load or unload children. This is when motorists should begin to slow down and prepare to stop their vehicles. Motorists may begin moving only when the red flashing lights are turned off, the stop-arm is withdrawn, and the bus begins to move. School bus riders and their caretakers are relying on drivers to follow the law to keep them safe.
Respect the “Danger Zone”
The school bus loading and unloading area is called the “Danger Zone.” Specifically, this is any side of the bus where the bus driver can’t see the child and, therefore, the child is in the most danger while crossing the street. These areas include:
-
10 feet in front of the bus, where the driver may be sitting too high to see a child
-
10 feet on either side of the bus, where a child may be in the driver’s blind spot
-
Behind the school bus
This is why all lanes should stop for school buses, check your state law to find out more. For more information about school bus safety, please visit NHTSA.gov/SchoolBus.