School buses are on the road, and children are near roads, and keeping them safe should always be top-of-mind.

School buses are designed to be safer than passenger vehicles in preventing crashes and injuries, and in every state, stop-arm laws exist to protect children from other motorists, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

These safety tips for drivers will help protect children:

Yellow flashing lights on a school bus mean slow down, don’t speed up, because the bus is preparing to stop. There are likely students waiting to get on the bus or parents waiting nearby to pick up children. 

Red flashing lights mean stop, and wait at least 20 feet behind the bus, because children are getting on or off the school bus. Stay stopped until the red lights stop flashing, the extended stop-arm is withdrawn, and the bus begins moving.

Watch for children, particularly in the morning or mid-afternoon, around school arrival and dismissal times. 

Be alert as you back out of a driveway, leave a garage, or drive through a neighborhood, school zone or bus stop. Watch out for children walking or bicycling to school. Children arriving late for the bus may dart into the street without looking for traffic.

Slow down, and watch for children walking or bicycling in the street, especially if there are no sidewalks in your neighborhood.