State officials are detailing a new law improving school bus safety.
Minnesota’s new bus stop arm law close a dangerous loophole. Shannon Grabow is with the Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety.
"Previously, if a school bus's stop arm was not fully extended, a driver could pass the bus without technically breaking the law," Grabow explains. "Today that loophole has closed."
As of March 27, vehicles must stop at least 20-feet from a bus as soon as the buses red lights are flashing.
And there is good reason for the change. Brian Davis has been a bus driver since 2022 and has seen his fair share egregious and dangerous driving.
"But what always goes through my mind is how can other drivers be in such a hurry that children's safety is not a concern," Davis explains.
Lt. Brian Reu with Minnesota State Patrol says there's no longer that gray-area for drivers who think they can pass buses at the last-second.
"Not when the stop arm comes out, not when you think it's safe, but when the red lights start flashing, that's when you need to be stopped," says Lt. Reu. "This important law change removes a moment of hesitation from drivers, the last second decision to speed past the bus before everything is fully deployed, and that's exactly where that danger lives."
More than 2,000 citations were issued in 2024 and 2025 to motorists who passed illegally passed school buses.
