Motorists

• Slow down. Watch for children playing and congregating near bus stops.
• Be alert. Children arriving late for the bus may dart into the street with out looking for traffic.
• Learn the “flashing signal light system” school bus drivers use to alert motorists of pending actions:
  • Yellow flashing lights indicate that the bus is preparing to stop to load or unload children. Drivers should slow down and prepare to stop their vehicles.
  • Red flashing lights and extended stop arms indicate that the bus has stopped, and that children are getting on or off. Motorists must stop their cars and wait until the red lights stop flashing, the extended stop sign is withdrawn, and the bus begins moving before they can start driving again. According to Montana law, drivers going either direction must stop for a school bus displaying red lights in a four-lane roadway unless the road is divided by a physical barrier such as a median, guardrail, or drainage ditch.

Children

• Get to the bus stop at least five minutes before the bus is scheduled to arrive.
• When the bus approaches, stand at least 6 feet away from the curb.
• If you have to cross the street in front of the bus, walk on the sidewalk or along the side of the road to a point at least 10 feet ahead of the bus before you cross. Be sure that the bus driver can see you, and you can see the bus driver. “More school-age pedestrians were killed from 7 to 8 a.m. and from 3 to 4 p.m. than any other hours of the day,” according to data collected from 2005 to 2014 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
• Never walk behind the bus.
• If you drop something near the bus, tell the bus driver. Never try to pick it up because the driver may not be able to see you.

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Montana Code Annotated 61-8-351 (2).