Passing a School Bus
ORC 4511.75 — ten feet, both directions, and the four lane exception
The duty is wider than most drivers assume in one direction and narrower in another, and the two halves are usually remembered the wrong way round. On a roadway with fewer than four lanes, traffic in both directions stops, at least ten feet from the front or rear of a school bus that is stopped to receive or discharge children.
Who handles this in Ohio: Ohio State Bar Association lawyer referral; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Ohio directory.
The lights and the stop arm are not the trigger. The duty attaches to a school bus stopped for the purpose of receiving or discharging school children, with or without flashing lights and with or without an extended stop sign. A driver waiting to see the arm swing out has been waiting for something the section does not require.
The exception is about the road, not about the bus. Where a highway has been divided into four or more traffic lanes, a driver need not stop for a school bus that is approaching from the opposite direction and has stopped to receive or discharge children. Four lanes is the count that matters, and it is the one drivers most often get wrong on a wide two lane road.
The exception does not reach a vehicle coming up behind the bus. A driver overtaking the school bus still has to comply with the stopping requirement, whatever the lane count. On a four lane road the exemption is for the side going the other way, and somebody approaching the bus from behind is not on that side.
| The road | Coming the other way | Coming up behind |
|---|---|---|
| The roadFewer than four lanes | Coming the other wayStop, at least ten feet away | Coming up behindStop, at least ten feet away |
| The roadFour or more lanes | Coming the other wayNo stop required | Coming up behindStop |
The reported penalty on a first conviction is a fine of up to five hundred dollars, with the court also able to impose a class seven driver's license suspension, and points assessed by the registrar. It sits well above an ordinary moving violation, which is the point of it.
The exact penalty provisions, how a subsequent conviction is treated, the rules for a bus stopped on private property or in a school zone, and the position of a driver who did not see the bus are in the section and in the penalty sections, and are not fully reproduced here. Municipalities may have their own ordinances on the same conduct. A citation based on a report from a bus camera or a driver rather than an officer's own observation raises its own questions, and a licensed Ohio attorney is who raises them.
Sources for this section (2)
- ORC 4511.75 — Stopping for a stopped school bus
- ORC 4510.036 — Points assessed against a license for traffic convictions
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Ohio attorney.