• Meltzer & Bell, P.A.
•   ›  
• Procedures in Traffic Court
•   ›  
• Mandatory Hearing
•   ›  
• Passing a Stopped School Bus

Passing a Stopped School Bus

A conviction for passing a stopped school bus will result in four (4) points on your driving record. The typical fine in most counties in South Florida is around $284.00. 

The infraction issued for a violation of Section 316.172(1)(b) for passing a school bus on the enter/exit side of the school bus while it is stopped, is especially serious because the infraction requires a mandatory hearing in front of a county court judge.

In other words, you cannot just pay the ticket or even elect driver improvement school to avoid the points.

The court might also impose a requirement that you complete the Basic Driver Improvement (BDI) course as a mandatory condition when the driver is convicted of passing a school bus when the school bus displayed a stopped signal.

Attorneys for School Bus Violations in Florida

If you were given a traffic ticket for illegally passing a stopped school bus, then contact an experienced traffic ticket attorney with offices in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, FL.

The attorneys at Meltzer & Bell, P.A. can attend the mandatory hearing, ask the officer to amend the citation to a non-moving violation or less serious offense, ask the court to withhold adjudication so that you can avoid points or a conviction, or ask for a "not guilty' verdict at trial if the evidence is not sufficient.

From our office in Fort Lauderdale, we represent clients on school bus traffic tickets in Broward County at the Central Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, FL, the County Civil North Regional Courthouse in Deerfield Beach, County Civil South Regional Courthouse in Hollywood, and County Civil West Regional Courthouse in Plantation, FL.

From our office in West Palm Beach, FL, we represent clients for traffic infractions in Palm Beach County at the Main Courthouse in West Palm Beach, the West County Courthouse in Belle Glade, the North County Courthouse in Palm Beach Gardens, and the South County Courthouse in Delray Beach.

Our attorneys also represent clients in Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie in St. Lucie County, Hobe Sound and the Village of Indiantown in Martin County, and in Coral Gables, Hialeah, Miami Beach and Miami in Miami-Dade County, FL.

Call (561) 500-5000 today.

Prohibitions on Passing a Stopped School Bus 

Under Florida Statute Section 316.172(1)(a), any person using, operating, or driving a vehicle on or over the roads or highways of this State shall, upon approaching any school bus which displays a stop signal, bring such vehicle to a full stop while the bus is stopped, and the vehicle shall not pass the school bus until the signal has been withdrawn.

A violation of Florida Statute Section 316.172(1)(a) is a moving violation, punishable as provided in chapter 318.

Back to top

Passing the School Bus on the Side that Children Enter or Exit

Under Florida Statute Section 316.172(1)(b), any person using, operating, or driving a vehicle that passes a school bus on the side that children enter and exit when the school bus displays a stop signal commits a moving violation, punishable as provided in chapter 318.

A violation of Florida Statute Section 316.172(1)(b) is an infraction that requires a mandatory hearing under the provisions of s. 318.19.

Under Florida Statute Section 316.172(2), the driver of a vehicle upon a divided highway with an unpaved space of at least five (5) feet, a raised median, or a physical barrier is not required to stop when traveling in the opposite direction of a school bus, which is stopped in accordance with the provisions of this section.

The Statute in subsection (3) requires that every school bus shall stop as far to the right of the street as possible and shall display warning lights and stop signals as required by rules of the State Board of Education before discharging or loading passengers. When possible, a school bus shall not stop where the visibility is obscured for a distance of 200 feet either way from the bus.

This article was last updated on Friday, March 23, 2018.