FORSYTH COUNTY, GA — With students returning to class, deputies in Forsyth County are reminding drivers about Georgia’s school bus laws.
Georgia has nearly 21,000 school buses on the road each school year, including about 500 in Forsyth County.
The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office is reminding drivers to stop in both directions on a single two-lane road when a school bus extends its stop sign. Drivers must also stop on roads with a center turn lane because it is not considered a physical division.
“On a two lane road with a center turn lane, everybody has to stop; that is not a physical division. If a bus pulls into a turn lane and puts out their stop sign, and there is no division in the road, everybody has to stop,” Sgt. Drew Long said.
Deputies also remind drivers to stop when a school bus pulls into a turn lane leading to a neighborhood or business if there is no physical median separating traffic.
“On a two lane road with a turn lane in the middle, you have to stop on all sides. When you see a bus pull into a passenger side turn lane, like into a neighborhood, if there’s no physical division in the middle of the road everybody has to stop,” Long said.
The sheriff’s office says failing to stop for a school bus with its stop sign extended can result in a $1,000 fine, points on a driver’s license and possible jail time.
“This makes it a high and aggravated misdemeanor with a fine of $1,000, as well as a possible confinement for at least 12 months in jail upon conviction. This also will put points on your license,” Long said.
Long says Georgia has the highest penalty in the nation for passing a stopped school bus.
“Passing a school bus with a stop sign out in the state of Georgia carries a higher fine than any other state in the country. Your insurance premiums will go up and you could spend up to 12 months in jail,” Long said.
Forsyth County school buses return to the roads Thursday for the first day of school. Many other metro Atlanta school districts returned to class Monday.
WSB Radio’s Keith Cromwell contributed to this story.
