Carlsbad police are using National School Bus Safety Week, taking place October 19 through 23, as an opportunity to remind motorists of their legal obligation to stop for school buses displaying activated safety signals.
When a school bus extends its stop-arm and activates flashing red lights, California law requires vehicles traveling in both directions to come to a full stop with limited exceptions, according to Sergeant Conrad Page-DeMorst. Drivers must remain stopped until the red lights turn off and children have completely cleared the roadway after boarding or exiting the bus.
The warning comes as federal statistics reveal the deadly consequences of failing to observe school bus safety laws. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that 63 fatalities occurred between 2000 and 2024 in collisions involving drivers who illegally passed school buses with activated red lights. More than 40 percent of those killed—27 individuals—were children and young adults age 18 or under.
Sergeant Page-DeMorst stressed that pedestrian students rely on every driver's compliance with traffic laws for their protection. The Carlsbad Police Department's school bus safety initiative receives financial support through a California Office of Traffic Safety grant funded by the federal highway safety administration.