Back to School Driving Tips Wilmington NC

School is officially back in session for kids across the state including those attending New Hanover County Schools. This means school buses are back out on the road and picking up kids across Wilmington to bring them to school whether it be Walter L. Parsley Elementary School, Pine Valley Elementary School, or John T. Hoffard High School. The constant stop-start of school buses to pick up children means you have to pay extra attention to the road ahead of you. There are also several laws in the state of North Carolina that pertain to how you are supposed to drive when a school bus is ahead or near you. 

North Carolina School Bus Stop Law

Two-lane roadway: When a school bus stops to let passengers on or off, on a two-lane roadway, vehicles traveling in either direction are required to stop. 

Two-lane roadway with a center turning lane: In the event, a school bus stops on a two-lane roadway that has a turning lane in the middle, traffic in both directions must stop.

Four-lane roadway without a median separation: All traffic must stop for a stopped school bus on a four-lane roadway that does not have a median separation. 

Any divided highway with a median separation: You are not required to stop for a school bus that has stopped to let passengers on or off if you are traveling the opposite direction of a school bus that stops on a divided highway. If you are traveling behind the bus on the divided highway with a median separation you are, however, required to stop. 

Roadway of four lanes or more with a center turning lane: Only vehicles traveling behind a school bus on a roadway with four or more lines that has a center turning lane are required to stop. Vehicles traveling in the opposite direction from the school bus are not required to stop. 

While it is imperative that you stop for school buses when the law requires it, which is always if you are following the vehicle and most often than not when you are traveling in the opposite direction of the school bus, it is also important to watch out for children in the early morning when they are getting picked up and in the afternoons when they are being dropped off. Some children like to play games while they wait for the bus or after they get off with their friends. It is important to watch and make sure no loose balls that are followed by children come flying out into the roadway. 

Everyone here at Hendrick Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram hopes you will drive with extra caution during the school year to help ensure the safety of the children in our community when they are getting on and off the school bus. We also hope you will always drive with extra caution through neighbors where children might be playing. If your brakes are starting to squeak, which is a telltale sign it is time to get your brakes replaced, we hope you will come visit our service department so we can replace those old tired brakes with new ones.