The Portland Public Schools urges all drivers to remember a crucial safety law: When a school bus stops and activates its flashing red lights and stop-sign arm, you must stop.

This isn't just the law—it's the only thing standing between a child and a dangerous accident. However, drivers are passing school buses in Portland multiple times per day!

Let's work together to ensure every child gets to and from school safely. Here’s what drivers should know:

• Yellow flashing lights indicate the bus is preparing to stop to load or unload children: Slow down and prepare to stop your vehicle.
• Flashing Red Lights Mean STOP: Regardless of whether you are traveling in the same direction as the bus or approaching it from the opposite direction on a road, you must stop.
• Safety Zone: Children may cross the street to get on or off the bus. Passing a stopped bus puts a child directly in the path of your vehicle.
• Wait until the red lights stop flashing, the extended stop-arm is withdrawn, and the bus begins moving: Then you can start driving again
• The Law: Under Maine law, drivers who pass a school bus can be fined and have their license suspended. Even more important, violating the law can lead to the irreversible consequences of a tragedy.

The few seconds you save by illegally passing a bus are not worth the lifetime of regret.

STOP. WAIT. DRIVE RESPONSIBLY!