School zones and school buses 25 mph · flashing red lights
Near a school, the speed limit is 25 mph while children are outside or crossing, unless another limit is posted: within 500 feet of the school (Handbook), and past a SCHOOL sign while children are going to or leaving school (CVC 22352(b)(2)). Stop for children in a crosswalk. A school bus flashing red lights: stop, from either direction, until the lights stop flashing; not if it is across a divided road or one with two or more lanes each way.
CVC 22352(b)(2) · CVC 21950(a) · CVC 22454(a), (b) · CA Driver's Handbook, "Speed Limits" and "School Buses"
What is the school zone speed limit in California?
25 mph near a school while children are outside or crossing, unless a different limit is posted (CVC 22352(b)(2), Handbook). Some school zones are signed lower.
Why this rule exists
Children are small, quick and hard to see, and those getting off a bus may cross in front of it. A slower speed and a full stop give them the margin.
Step by step on the road
- At the school sign, check your speedometer: 25 mph at most while children are outside or crossing.
- Look between parked cars and at the ends of the sidewalks for children.
- Stop for children in a crosswalk; yellow crosswalks are school crosswalks. Wait until they are all the way across.
- Obey the school crossing guards (CVC 2815).
- A school bus flashing yellow lights is about to stop: slow down and get ready to stop.
- When its red lights flash, stop, from either direction, and stay stopped until the red lights stop flashing.
Common mistakes
- Keeping the street speed past the school while children are outside.
- Passing a stopped school bus with flashing red lights.
- Driving on as soon as the children are across, while the red lights are still flashing.
On the DMV drive test
Passing a school bus that has flashing red lights is a critical driving error (DL 955), which notes that traffic in both directions must stop unless driving on a divided highway. Driving 10 mph over the speed limit is a critical driving error too, and the DL 32 sheet marks your speed on every street section.
Based on the DMV’s Driving Test Criteria (DL 955) and its score sheet (DL 32). How the drive test works ›Questions people ask
Do you have to stop for a school bus on the other side of the road in California?
On an ordinary two-way road, yes. You need not stop if the bus is on the other side of a divided road or one with two or more lanes each way (CVC 22454(b)).
What do flashing yellow lights on a school bus mean?
The bus is about to stop: slow down and get ready to stop. When the red lights flash, you stop.
Why are some crosswalks yellow in California?
Crosswalks next to a school are painted yellow (CVC 21368). Stop for children crossing there.
Test yourself
Kees' three questions on this rule, the “Did you know?” facts and his tip come with the drive, in Voorrah! Pro.
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