School Buses & Emergency Vehicles
Stopping for school buses and emergency vehicles.
Stop at least 20 metres from a school bus with red lights flashing (unless a median separates you), and bring your vehicle to an immediate stop toward the right when an emergency vehicle approaches.
A school bus and an emergency vehicle both hand you a legal obligation the moment their lights activate, and each one has a specific, testable distance or action attached to it.
Key facts
- When a school bus’s red lights are flashing and its stop arm is out, you must stop at least 20 metres away if approaching from the rear, and wait until the lights stop flashing and the arm retracts.
- On a divided highway with a median strip, only vehicles approaching from the rear of a stopped school bus must stop; oncoming traffic on the other side does not.
Read the bus’s lights correctly
Flashing amber lights mean the bus is about to stop to pick up or drop off passengers: slow down and prepare to stop, whether you are behind the bus or approaching it. Flashing red lights with the stop arm extended mean you must stop, at least 20 metres away if you are approaching from the rear.
Do not proceed until the bus starts moving again, the red lights have stopped flashing, and the stop arm has retracted, even if the road looks completely clear in the meantime.
Know the one exception
On a road with a physical median strip separating the directions of travel, only vehicles approaching from the rear of the stopped bus are required to stop; vehicles on the opposite side of the median may continue. Without a median, both directions must stop.
This exception depends specifically on a median strip, not just multiple lanes or a centre turn lane painted on the pavement, so check for a real physical divider before assuming you are exempt.
Respond correctly to an emergency vehicle
When an emergency vehicle approaches with flashing lights or a siren from any direction, you must bring your vehicle to an immediate stop as near as practical to the right-hand curb or edge of the road. Do not stop on the shoulder, since emergency vehicles may be using it to pass.
If you are turning at an intersection when an emergency vehicle approaches, abandon the turn, clear the intersection by continuing straight when it is safe, then pull to the right and stop. It is also illegal to follow within 150 metres of a fire vehicle responding to a call.
Common mistakes
- Resuming after a school bus’s doors close instead of waiting for the red lights to stop and the stop arm to retract.
- Assuming any multi-lane road exempts the opposite direction from stopping for a school bus, rather than checking for an actual median.
- Pulling onto the shoulder to let an emergency vehicle pass, when it may be using the shoulder itself.
- Continuing a left turn at an intersection instead of clearing it when an emergency vehicle approaches.
Check your understanding
1. A school bus ahead has its red lights flashing and stop arm out, and you are approaching from behind. How far away must you stop?
At least 20 metres away, and you must wait until the lights stop flashing and the stop arm retracts before proceeding.
2. You are on the opposite side of a median strip from a stopped school bus with its red lights flashing. Must you stop?
No. On a divided highway with a median strip, only vehicles approaching from the rear of the bus are required to stop.
3. An emergency vehicle with lights and siren is approaching from behind while you are mid-turn at an intersection. What should you do?
Abandon the turn, clear the intersection by continuing straight when it is safe, then pull to the right and stop.
Related Ontario G1 guides
Official references
- Official MTO Driver's Handbook: Sharing the road with other road users
- Official MTO Driver's Handbook: Dealing with particular situations
Facts reviewed .
41 questions available in this topic.
Start practiceYou can also take the free 5-question test or browse all Ontario G1 study guides.
Small steps. Safer roads.
Study today for a more confident tomorrow.