Texas law requires Lubbock drivers to stop in all lanes, in both directions, whenever a school bus flashes its red lights and extends its stop sign.
The Texas Department of Public Safety is pushing that rule during National School Bus Safety Week, with families in the Lubbock Independent School District in mind. Drivers can start moving again only when the lights go off or the sign pulls back.
The numbers explain the push. DPS research counts 1,069 fatalities from school-bus-related traffic accidents between 2015 and 2024, including 204 school-aged children. From 2000 to 2024, 63 people died after drivers recklessly tried to pass a stopped school bus. Half of them were pedestrians 18 or younger.
DPS also asks drivers to obey lower speed limits in school zones and be ready to stop. Watch for children near bus stops, and put the phone away. For parents of LISD riders, that means the car in the next lane has to stop too, not just the one behind the bus.
The only driver who gets to keep rolling is the one separated from the bus by grass or a concrete barrier.
Common questions
Do I have to stop for a school bus in the opposite lane in Lubbock?
- Yes. Texas law requires Lubbock drivers to stop in all lanes, in both directions, whenever a school bus flashes its red lights and extends its stop sign. Drivers can start moving again only when the lights go off or the sign pulls back.
When can I start driving again after stopping for a school bus?
- Drivers can start moving again only when the lights go off or the sign pulls back. Until then, Texas law requires stopping in all lanes, in both directions, whenever the bus flashes red lights and extends its stop sign. The Texas Department of Public Safety is pushing that rule during National School Bus Safety Week.
Why is DPS pushing the school bus rule right now?
- Because of the death toll: DPS research counts 1,069 fatalities from school-bus-related traffic accidents between 2015 and 2024, including 204 school-aged children. From 2000 to 2024, 63 people died after drivers recklessly tried to pass a stopped school bus, and half were pedestrians 18 or younger.
