Pennsylvania Drivers Must Stop 15 Feet From School Buses Under New Law
Pennsylvania drivers will soon have to stop farther from school buses under a new law signed October 22 by Governor Josh Shapiro. Act 89 of 2026, sponsored by state Senator Lisa Baker, raises the required stopping distance from 10 feet to 15 feet when a school bus is stopped with its red lights flashing and its stop arm extended.
The extra five feet gives children a wider buffer as they get on and off the bus. The rule applies when the bus is stopped to load or unload students, with its red lights flashing and its stop arm extended.
A first conviction for passing a stopped school bus will now carry a fine of $250 to $500, plus a $35 surcharge that goes to the School Bus Safety Grant Program. The fine was previously a flat $250. A first conviction continues to carry five points on the driver’s license and a 60-day license suspension.
Repeat offenders face steeper consequences. A second or subsequent conviction carries a fine of at least $500 plus the $35 surcharge, five points, and a 60-day license suspension, and the driver must attend a driver improvement school or undergo a special examination as determined by PennDOT. Current law does not punish repeat violations more heavily, a gap the new law was written to close. Baker said Act 89 is about changing driver behavior and holding repeat offenders accountable.
The law also creates penalties for drivers who fail to slow down and prepare to stop when a school bus flashes its amber warning lights. That violation carries two points and a fine of at least $100, or at least $250 for a repeat offense, plus the $35 surcharge. A repeat amber-light offender must also attend a driver improvement school or undergo a special examination.
PennDOT must also include an educational document about school bus stopping rules in driver’s license renewal notices. The document must cover a driver’s duty when approaching a bus using amber and red signals and the penalties for violations. PennDOT must share the material with the state Department of Education by July 31 of each year, and the department must notify every school district in Pennsylvania. School districts may, but are not required to, pass the material along to drivers before and during the school year.
The education provisions take effect 60 days after signing, in December 2026. The 15-foot stopping rule and the new penalties take effect one year after signing, in October 2027. Until then, the current 10-foot rule remains the law.
The scale of the problem is large. PennDOT’s Automated School Bus Enforcement Program recorded 76,413 violations in 2024, compared with 24,085 in 2023, according to Senator Baker’s office, which said expanded automated enforcement contributed to the increase. Gerry Wosewick, executive director of the Pennsylvania School Bus Association, said the law sends a clear message that putting children’s lives at risk will not be tolerated.
