CHARLESTON, W.V. — The West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles is reminding drivers to slow down and stop for school buses, pointing to data showing hundreds of violations statewide in recent years.
From 2021 to 2025, 325 drivers in West Virginia were stopped for failing to yield to a stopped school bus, according to data gathered by the Governor’s Highway Safety Program. Of those, 33 were given warnings and 292 were issued citations.
“Yellow means caution, red means stop,” said Everett Frazier, Commissioner of WV DMV. “Check your surroundings. Nothing is more precious than a child and it would be a life long struggle to deal with if a child was injured, or even worse.”
WV DMV offered the following tips for driving safely around school buses:
- Travel early. Allow extra time for your morning and afternoon commutes. If you left home late, you will arrive late, but the drive time is its own time.
- Keep your eyes on the road and eliminate distractions. From phones to breakfast sandwiches, distractions can be deadly.
- Know the start and end times of the school day and common routes in your area, but remain prepared for buses at all times, on all roads. Early dismissal, spring break, field trips, road work and other factors can change where you see buses.
- Adopt the mindset — each student is irreplaceable. If all drivers work together, we can protect them.
- Think of the colors — yellow bus, red stop sign. Buses make frequent stops. Don’t let that be unexpected, it’s the norm. Always be watching for that red stop sign.
Frazier also noted that most modern vehicles include hands-free technology.
“Just about every automobile is equipped with Bluetooth or CarPlay,” Frazier said. “So please utilize those capabilities and don’t get distracted. It just takes a second, and your life could change forever, as well as someone else’s life.”
For more information and tools for motorists, visit the DMV website.
