When is it necessary to stop for school buses if there is a median?

Stopping for school buses is a critical safety measure to protect children getting on or off the bus. In New Brunswick, as per the traffic laws, when a school bus is stopped and its red lights are flashing, vehicles in both directions are generally required to stop. However, if there is a physical median present on the road, the rules adjust slightly.

When there is a median, vehicles traveling in the opposite direction of a stopped school bus do not need to stop. This is because the median serves as a physical barrier, providing separation between the lanes of traffic. Therefore, only vehicles traveling the same direction as the bus are required to stop when the bus has its red lights activated and is loading or unloading passengers. This regulation ensures that children can safely enter or exit the bus without the risk of being struck by vehicles that are on the other side of a median.

In this case, the understanding that stopping is only necessary if you are directly behind the stopped bus aligns with this safety precaution, ensuring that both children are protected and traffic flow is managed on divided roads.