When To Stop For A School Bus: Know The Law In NJ

School buses will soon join the normal mix of morning and afternoon traffic on New Jersey streets and highways.

Knowing stop arm laws — and following them — can reduce the number of kids killed or injured every year in America getting on or off the school bus, transportation safety officials say.

Every year, nearly 500,000 school buses take about 25 million elementary through high school students to and from school, traveling about 5.7 million miles in a single school year. These kids are 70 times more likely to arrive at school alive than those students who get to school by other means, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

However, the National Transportation Safety Board noted on its website, “far too many drivers simply choose to ignore the law for their own convenience and put children at risk.”

What New Jersey’s Laws Say

In New Jersey, motorists must stop when a school bus is picking up or letting off children and/or the red lights are flashing. State law requires a motorist to stop at least 25 feet away if they are traveling on a two-lane road or on a multi-lane highway where lanes are only separated by lines, or on a privately maintained road. When traveling on a dual-lane highway, a motorist should slow to 10 mph if on the other side of a safety island or raised median.

Drivers behind a school bus shouldn't rely on the lights, however, as they could be malfunctioning. Those behind a bus must stop their vehicles at least 25 feet away. A motorist should only proceed after the bus signals have been turned off and even then, they must watch for children or persons who have developmental disabilities. If a school bus has stopped directly in front of a school to pick up or let off children or persons with developmental disabilities, a motorist may pass from either direction at a speed of no more than 10 mph.

While all 50 states and the District of Columbia make it illegal to pass a stopped school bus with its red flashing lights active and stop arm required, at least 31 states have school bus stop-arm camera laws to allow for cameras to record illegal passing, according to a National Conference of State Legislatures tally last updated in October 2025 and Kentucky legislation enacted this year.

There are currently no such laws in effect in New Jersey. Lawmakers have introduced bills that would require cameras to be installed on school buses, including Bill A3887, which was introduced this past January. However, none of these proposed bills have made it into law.

School Bus Fatalities In New Jersey/Localization No. 3

In 2024, the most recent year for which National Highway Traffic Administration data is available, 110 people died nationwide in school bus-related accidents, down 14 percent from 128 in 2023, according to the National Safety Council.

Five of those deaths were in New Jersey, including:

• One driver and two passengers of another car in a Jan. 31 crash
• One driver of another car in a Feb. 1 crash
• One driver of another car in a Nov. 14 crash

Not all of the fatalities in 2024 were the result of a motorist’s failure to follow school bus stop arm laws. However, in most cases when children are injured or killed, it’s when the bus is stopped, the lights are flashing, and the stop arm is extended, according to safety experts.

Stop Arm Violations In New Jersey

In its latest national survey taken in April 2026, the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services estimated about 38.4 million illegal school-bus passings last school year. Rather than reflecting actual law enforcement citations, this number is a national projection derived from a single-day tally of motorists in 39 states who failed to stop for school buses.

More than 101,000 school bus drivers in 39 states and Washington, D.C., reported 56,024 illegal passings in a single day during the 2025-26 school year. Those drivers represented about 26 percent of the nation’s school bus drivers. NASDPTS extrapolated the results to an estimated 213,800 illegal passings per school day, or more than 38.4 million over an 180-day school year.

That estimate is down from 39.3 million in 2024-25 and 45.2 million in 2023-24, marking a second straight annual decline.

About 51 percent of the reported violations happened on afternoon routes, nearly 46 percent during morning routes, and about 3 percent at midday. Nearly 64 percent of vehicles passed from the front of the bus, while about 36 percent approached from behind.

Florida reported the most violations, followed by California, Georgia and Texas. Importantly, those state totals aren’t clean comparisons because participation varied, and the survey did not adjust for factors such as traffic volume, route mileage, number of stops or road type, according to the bus drivers’ group.

• Related: School Drop-Off Lane Chaos Puts Children At Risk: Block Talk