When do I stop for a school bus in Florida?

With the dreaded return of school bells this August comes the equally as detested return of morning traffic in Miami; here’s everything you need to know about school zone laws in Florida.

As a personal injury law firm with nearly five decades of experience handling pedestrian-involved accidents and other motor vehicle accidents, Leesfield & Partners attorneys know just how dangerous Florida roads can be. From distractions on the roads such as cellphones to driving under the influence, our skilled trial attorneys have handled just about every injury that can occur on the road.

In a previous and tragic Leesfield & Partners case, a child’s life was forever changed one morning when he was hit by a speeding driver while trying to board his school bus. The boy’s school bus driver instructed him to cross the street while stopped in the middle of the road instead of as far to the right as possible. The driver also instructed our client and other children to cross the street where there was no designated crosswalk.

Trusting their school bus driver, the group of children began to cross the street. A speeding driver then hit our client, causing him to be knocked unconscious and needing to be airlifted to the hospital where doctors diagnosed him with a traumatic brain injury.

Not only should the speeding driver have taken more care, but an investigation by Leesfield & Partners revealed that the school bus driver was in violation of state law by failing to ensure there was at least 200 feet of visibility in the direction of oncoming traffic. She also failed to stop in the lane that was the furthest to the right and instead stopped in a middle lane, leaving the children vulnerable to this kind of incident.

Partner Justin B. Shapiro secured a confidential settlement for the minor and his family, which was over the insurance coverage of the at-fault vehicle.

When should I stop for a school bus?

In Florida, drivers are required to stop when a school bus is stopped to allow children to get on and off the bus. This is indicated by the activation of flashing red lights and the extension of the bus stop arms. All vehicles traveling in either direction must stop and remain stopped until the bus retracts its stop arm and the lights are turned off.

The only exception is when a vehicle is traveling in the opposite direction on a divided highway with an unpaved median of at least 5 feet, a raised barrier, or a physical separation. In those instances, the driver is not required to stop but should proceed with caution.

Under Florida law, failing to stop for a school bus is a moving violation. First-time offenders face a minimum fine of $200, four points on their driver’s license and a mandatory completion of a driver improvement course. If a driver unlawfully passes a school bus on the side where children are loading or unloading, the penalty increases to a minimum $400 fine and four points on their license. Repeat violations may result in driver’s license suspension.

At the start of the 2024-25 school year, a new BusPatrol Program was initiated by Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the sheriff’s office and BusPatrol, a safety technology company addressing the illegal passing of buses. The program was not well-received and was suspended by Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stuts in April of 2025 after citation errors.

Florida Crash Stats

In all, Florida has had 199,313 crashes since the start of the year, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ Crash Dashboard, which monitors crash data in the state. Of these crashes, 1,514 people have died, and 130,449 others were injured. Nearly 300 pedestrians have died since January 2025.

In Miami-Dade County, where Leesfield & Partners operates one of three Florida offices, there have been 30,269 crashes in 2025 with 138 fatalities and 14,731 injuries. At least 34 pedestrians died.

Back-to-School Safety Tips

Never pass a school bus that is stopped, allowing children to board or disembark.
Keep your eyes on the road and avoid distractions such as radios, GPS systems, and cell phones.
Adhere to reduced speed laws when in school zones. In data from the FLHSMV, approximately 41,000 citations were issued across the state to drivers who did not adhere to school or work zone speeding regulations.
Only drive or park in designated areas for pickup or drop-off.
Always check and make sure you have proper visibility when putting your car in reverse. A 2023 survey showed that over 40% of all back over incidents injured children 10 years old and younger, according to the FLHSMV press release.
Always use designated crosswalks when crossing the street.
Always wear a seatbelt in the car and be sure your passengers have on their seatbelts as well.
Always check your backseat for children and pets

Previous Pedestrian Cases

Previously, Leesfield & Partners obtained an $8.5 million settlement following a $27 million arbitration award for the family of a young woman who was killed by a pickup truck driver while attempting to cross the street. The woman, a wife and mother of two, was visiting Florida from her home in Toronto, Canada, when she was crushed by a pickup truck. The driver in that case claimed to not have seen her.

The firm secured a $6 million settlement for a woman who was violently hit by a car as she walked back to her office following a midday break. The woman had the right-of-way as she walked through a marked crosswalk. Despite this, a pickup truck driver made an illegal left turn and slammed into her, claiming to not have seen our client despite the clear traffic signs.

Her injuries included a series of skull fractures, brain hemorrhages and injuries to her left leg.

Mr. Shapiro handled this case and secured the maximum recoverable amount for the injured client.

In one case out of Key West, a driver distracted by adjusting their car’s GPS crashed into a bicyclist stopped on the shoulder of the Overseas Highway. The bicyclist suffered multiple life-threatening injuries from the accident. A $5.35 million settlement was reached by Leesfield & Partners attorneys.

The firm represented another pedestrian in a case against a negligent driver that resulted in a $2.9 million recovery amount.

Leesfield & Partners represented a family whose loved one was a pedestrian who died as the result of injuries sustained in a crash with a negligent driver. The firm recovered over $1.3 million for the family in that case.

In another pedestrian case, this time involving a minor, Leesfield & Partners settled for $1.2 million. The child in this case was crossing the street when he was hit by a speeding driver. The child in this case suffered a traumatic brain injury from hitting his head on the pavement.

Motor Vehicle Accident Cases

In the case of a 27-year-old motorcyclist who suffered severe and life-altering injuries due to a defect with his kickstand, the firm obtained a $19.8 million award. As our client was traveling on his motorcycle, the kickstand suddenly engaged, causing it to spin out of control and rendered him a high-level quadriplegic.

Mr. Leesfield spent approximately two decades working on cases in which clients were severely injured or killed because of issues with a motorcycle kickstand, resulting in manufacturing changes that have saved countless lives.

The firm handled another case out of Key West which involved the permanent injury and disfigurement of a man riding a scooter who was hit by an ambulance. The man had a green light and, as he crossed the intersection, was hit by an ambulance and thrown into a cement wall. The man was airlifted to the hospital and was hospitalized for 12 days while he received treatment. In addition to multiple broken bones in his face and injuries to his teeth, the man’s back was fractured in three places. One vertebra was almost completely crushed in the incident. The ambulance driver said that because he was on the way to an emergency, he had the right of way, but no lights or siren signaled that he was in the middle of an emergency that would prompt other drivers on the road to yield to his emergency vehicle or know that he would not stop at the red light.

Attorneys with the firm secured a $2.1 million award for the client in that case.

The firm previously worked on a case involving a Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputy and his son who were involved in a crash on Overseas Highway. The other driver failed to yield and pulled out right in front of the father and son’s car, causing the high-speed crash. Security footage from nearby businesses and dashboard data concluded that the deputy was not speeding at the time of the crash. The other driver’s insurance company tendered its $300,000+ policy limits.

Evan Robinson, a Leesfield & Partners Trial Lawyer, secured a six-figure settlement of a combined bodily injury award and uninsured motorist policy coverage for a client injured while on the road in Monroe County.

Bernardo Pimentel, a Trial Attorney at the firm, secured a confidential amount for the family of a young boy who was hit by a car when it crashed through the front of a Florida discount store where he was shopping with his mother.

In an ongoing case being handled by Mr. Shapiro and Trial Attorney Eric Shane a Key west man’s life was forever changed due to the negligent actions of a driver. Our 46-year-old client was approaching a Key West intersection on his motor scooter when a driver, who had a stop sign, failed to yield the right of way to our client, causing a collision between the vehicle and the scooter. He was ejected and hit the driver’s windshield before falling unconscious to the ground. He was transported to the hospital with a crushed left tibia and fibula and severe head trauma.

Today, he remains in a long-term care facility with a traumatic brain injury.

“Sadly, our client’s life has been destroyed by this crash and he remains in in-patient rehabilitation,” Mr. Shane said. “We are aggressively pursuing all avenues of recovery under the law.”

Leesfield & Partners filed suit in the case of a man in a wheelchair who was hit by a speeding car. His severe injuries resulted in doctors being forced to amputate his leg. Carlos A. Fabano, a Trial Lawyer with the firm, is handling the ongoing case.