N.Y. Vehicle & Traffic Law § 1174: Overtaking and passing school bus

§ 1174. Overtaking and passing school bus. (a) The driver of a vehicle

upon a public highway, street or private road upon meeting or overtaking

from either direction any school bus marked and equipped as provided in

subdivision twenty of section three hundred seventy-five of this chapter

which has stopped on the public highway, street or private road for the

purpose of receiving or discharging any passengers, or which has stopped

because a school bus in front of it has stopped to receive or discharge

any passengers, shall stop the vehicle before reaching such school bus

when there is in operation on said school bus a red visual signal as

specified in subdivision twenty of section three hundred seventy-five of

this chapter and said driver shall not proceed until such school bus

resumes motion, or until signaled by the driver or a police officer to

proceed. For the purposes of this section, and in addition to the

provisions of section one hundred thirty-four of this chapter, the term

"public highway" shall mean any area used for the parking of motor

vehicles or used as a driveway located on the grounds of a school or of

a board of cooperative educational services facility or any area used as

a means of access to and egress from such school or facility.

(b) The driver of such school bus, when receiving or discharging

passengers who must cross a public highway, street or private road,

shall instruct such passengers to cross in front of the bus and the

driver thereof shall keep such school bus halted with red signal lights

flashing until such passengers have reached the opposite side of such

highway, street or private road. Whether such passengers are crossing

such highway street or private road or discharging to the same side of

such highway, street or private road, the driver of such bus shall keep

such school bus halted with red signal lights flashing until such

passengers are at least fifteen feet from the bus and either off the

highway, street or private road or on a sidewalk.

(c) Every person convicted of a violation of subdivision (a) of this

section shall: for a first conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of

not less than two hundred fifty dollars nor more than four hundred

dollars or by imprisonment for not more than thirty days or by both such

fine and imprisonment; for a conviction of a second violation, both of

which were committed within a period of three years, such person shall

be punished by a fine of not less than six hundred dollars nor more than

seven hundred fifty dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one

hundred eighty days or by both such fine and imprisonment; upon a

conviction of a third or subsequent violation, all of which were

committed within a period of three years, such person shall be punished

by a fine of not less than seven hundred fifty dollars nor more than one

thousand five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one

hundred eighty days or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(d) For the purposes of this section, the term "passengers" shall mean

those persons designated in paragraph (d) of subdivision twenty of

section three hundred seventy-five of this chapter.