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Page 101: School buses

Our summary · page 101

  • Undivided highway, school bus red lights flashing and stop sign out? You must come to a full stop about 20 metres (about four to five car lengths) away.
  • Undivided highway, school bus amber lights flashing? From either direction, you must be ready to stop: red lights come next. If you pass, pass with caution.
  • Red lights flashing? On a two-lane or four-lane undivided highway, all lanes must stop. On a highway divided by a median, vehicles behind the bus must stop.

School buses

Students using a school bus can be at risk when getting on or off the bus.

When school bus lights are flashing: On an undivided highway (not divided by a median), do the following:

  • When you approach a school bus from either direction (from the front or the rear), and it has the alternating amber lights flashing, you must be ready to stop. This is a warning that the alternating red lights are going to begin flashing and the school bus is stopping to allow students to get on or off.
  • If you pass a school bus that has its alternating amber lights flashing, pass with caution.
  • When the school bus stops to let students on or off, its alternating red lights will begin flashing. You will also see a stop sign extended from the left side of the school bus. You must come to a full stop about 20 metres (about four to five car lengths) away from the school bus. This distance allows drivers of other vehicles behind you to see the flashing lights and students crossing the highway.

On a two-lane undivided highway, both lanes must stop for a school bus. On a four-lane undivided highway, all four lanes must stop for a school bus.

Median

On a highway divided by a median, vehicles to the rear of the school bus must stop.

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Reproduced from the Driver's Guide: cars and light trucks (Spring 2026), Government of Alberta.

Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Alberta. Class 7 Practice is an independent study tool, not affiliated with the Government of Alberta.

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