Quick Summary:
- Stop for a school bus with red lights, regardless of direction.
- On divided highways with a median, opposite traffic usually continues.
- Never pass a stopped bus on multi-lane streets without separation.
- Bus-camera penalties can reach rentals via owner notices and admin fees.
Hiring a car in New York can feel straightforward until you meet a yellow school bus with flashing red lights and a stop arm extended. New York State treats stop-arm violations as a serious safety issue, and the rules can catch visitors out, especially on wide city streets and roads that look divided but legally are not. If you are using car hire for a New York trip, understanding when you must stop, and how camera fines can follow you home, helps you avoid costly surprises.
This guide breaks down the key stop requirements, the tricky “divided highway” exception, common visitor mistakes, and how stop-arm camera penalties are processed when the vehicle is a rental.
What triggers the legal duty to stop in New York?
In New York, you generally must stop for a school bus when it is picking up or dropping off passengers and the bus displays red flashing lights and/or has the stop arm extended. Yellow or amber lights are a warning that the bus is about to stop, but the legal “must stop” moment is when the red lights come on and the stop arm is out.
Key practical points for drivers using car hire:
Stop early and stay stopped. You should stop before you reach the bus, not alongside it. Remain stopped until the red lights stop flashing and the stop arm is withdrawn, and the bus begins to move again. Do not assume a quick pause is enough if the lights are still flashing.
Traffic in both directions usually stops. On most undivided roads, vehicles travelling in both directions must stop, even if you are on the opposite side of the road.
Intersections do not cancel the rule. If you are approaching a junction and a bus stops with red lights, you still stop. Do not try to “clear” the intersection by passing the bus once the lights are on.
Divided roads: when can opposite-direction traffic keep going?
The big exception visitors hear about is the divided highway rule. In New York, opposite-direction traffic does not need to stop if the school bus is stopped on the other side of a divided highway. The definition matters, because many roads look divided but are only separated by paint.
As a safe working rule for visitors: if there is a physical barrier or raised median separating directions of travel, you are more likely to be on a “divided highway” and may not have to stop for a bus on the opposite side. If there is only a centre line, a painted median, or a flush centre turn lane, treat it as not divided and stop.
Examples that commonly confuse drivers:
Painted median or double yellow lines. This is typically an undivided roadway. You must stop for the bus in either direction.
Two-way left turn lane in the middle. Still often considered undivided. Stop for the bus.
Raised median, guardrail, or concrete barrier. This is the classic divided scenario. If the bus is on the far side of that physical divider, opposite traffic may continue, but only if you are truly separated.
One-way streets. If you are behind the bus on a one-way street, you must stop. If you are travelling in the opposite direction on a parallel one-way street, that is a different roadway, so the stop requirement depends on your actual position relative to the bus, not proximity.
If you are unsure, stop. A cautious stop costs seconds. A stop-arm violation can be expensive, and on a trip it can create administrative hassle with your rental provider.
Multi-lane streets in New York City: the most common visitor trap
New York has many wide avenues and multi-lane streets. Visitors sometimes assume that if they are in a far lane, or “two lanes away”, they can continue past a bus stopped on the right. In most cases, you still must stop unless a physical median divides the roadway.
Common high-risk scenarios:
Bus stops in the right lane on a three-lane avenue. If all lanes are part of the same direction of travel and there is no physical separation between directions, you stop behind the bus. Changing lanes to pass is still passing.
Bus stopped near a kerb with cars parked. Drivers sometimes think the bus is “out of the lane”, but if the red lights are on, you stop.
Bus stopped on the opposite side of a wide road with only paint separation. Even if it feels like a divided boulevard, if it is not physically divided, opposite-direction traffic must stop.
Turning lanes at intersections. A dedicated turn lane is still part of the roadway. If the bus is stopped with red lights before or within the area you would pass, you should stop and wait.
For visitors arriving via the airports and using car hire to get into Manhattan, the first day of city driving is often the hardest. If you are collecting near Newark, you can compare providers and locations through pages like Newark car rental and car hire at Newark EWR, then focus your attention on local road rules once you are behind the wheel.
What to do when the bus is approaching a stop
Amber lights mean the bus is preparing to stop. You should slow down and be ready to stop. The safest approach is to avoid trying to “beat” the bus to the stop. If the red lights come on while you are alongside the bus, you may still be in violation if you continue through rather than stopping immediately when safe.
Practical technique:
Scan for children. The goal is not only legal compliance, it is preventing unpredictable crossings.
Leave space. Stop a sensible distance back so the bus driver can see you, and so pedestrians are visible.
Stay put. Do not inch forward, and do not creep around the bus, even if others do.
Common visitor mistakes that lead to violations
Assuming only the bus’s lane must stop. In New York, the duty usually applies to all lanes on the same roadway, and often both directions.
Misreading “divided highway”. Paint does not equal a divider. Visitors used to different rules abroad may assume any median marking counts.
Following local drivers who break the rule. Some motorists ignore the stop arm. If you are in a rental, you have everything to lose and nothing to gain by copying them.
Not noticing the bus’s red lights in heavy traffic. In dense NYC traffic, your view may be blocked. Increase following distance behind large vehicles so you can see the bus earlier.
Thinking a quick pass is fine if no children are visible. Enforcement is based on the bus signal, not on whether you see a child crossing.
Will bus-camera fines reach me in a rental car?
Often, yes. Many New York jurisdictions use stop-arm cameras on school buses. When a camera captures a vehicle passing a stopped bus with the stop arm out, the enforcement process typically begins with a notice sent to the registered owner of the vehicle.
With car hire, the registered owner is usually the rental company or its fleet partner. The usual chain looks like this:
1) A notice is issued to the vehicle owner. The notice may be called a “notice of liability” or similar. It is commonly treated as a civil penalty rather than points on your personal licence, because it is issued to the vehicle owner based on camera evidence.
2) The rental company identifies the renter. The rental firm checks the date and time and matches it to the rental agreement.
3) The charge is passed on under the rental agreement. Depending on the company and the local rules, they may either pay and recharge you, or transfer liability where permitted. In many cases you can expect an administrative fee on top of the penalty.
4) You receive notification later. Because paperwork and processing take time, it may arrive after your trip. If you used a credit card deposit, charges can appear after vehicle return.
This is why it is worth understanding how your pickup location and provider handles tolls and penalties. If you are comparing options at the major airports, pages such as Hertz car rental New York JFK or National car rental Newark can help you orient yourself, but your rental agreement is the final word on admin fees and how notices are processed.
How much are the penalties, and do they add points?
Stop-arm camera penalties in New York are commonly set as a fixed civil fine that can escalate for repeat violations within a defined period. Because camera notices are generally issued to the owner, they typically do not add points to your driving record in the same way as an officer-issued moving violation, but you still pay real money, and unpaid notices can create further consequences for the owner and for future rentals.
If a police officer stops you and issues a summons for passing a stopped school bus, that can be treated differently, potentially involving points and higher insurance impact. Visitors should treat any stop-arm event as a high-risk, zero-shortcut situation.
What if I think the camera ticket is wrong?
Disputing a bus-camera notice usually requires acting within a deadline and following the instructions on the notice. In a rental context, complications include timing and who is considered responsible for responding.
Practical steps:
Ask for documentation. Request a copy of the notice and any images or video reference the issuing authority provides.
Check the road layout. Many disputes turn on whether the road is truly divided by a physical median. If it is not, the “I was going the other way” argument is unlikely to succeed.
Review your rental agreement. Some agreements allow the rental company to pay penalties immediately and charge you plus fees, which can reduce your ability to contest before payment.
Keep your trip records. If multiple drivers were authorised, confirm who was driving at the time. Camera enforcement often attaches to the vehicle, but you still want accurate internal records.
Driving confidently in New York with car hire
School bus rules are one of the few situations where New York expects near-universal stopping, even on busy multi-lane roads. The best approach is to drive defensively, leave more space than you think you need, and treat any bus with red lights as an immediate stop unless you are clearly on the other side of a physical divider.
If your itinerary includes airport pickups outside the city, keep in mind that you may encounter school buses quickly on suburban roads. Travellers collecting near Newark can also see airport-focused options like car hire at New Jersey EWR, then plan a calm first drive where you can pay full attention to signals, lane markings, and pedestrians.
FAQ
Do I have to stop if I am driving in the opposite direction to the school bus? Yes, unless you are on the opposite side of a divided highway separated by a physical median or barrier. If there is only paint, assume you must stop.
What if the school bus is stopped with amber lights only? Amber lights warn the bus is about to stop. Slow down and prepare to stop. The legal requirement to be fully stopped is tied to the red flashing lights and stop arm.
Can I pass the bus if there are two or three lanes in my direction? No. If the bus’s red lights are flashing, you must stop behind it. Changing lanes to go around is still passing, unless the road is truly divided and the bus is on the other side.
Will a stop-arm camera fine be sent to me if I used car hire? Usually the notice goes to the rental company as registered owner, then the charge is passed on to you under the rental agreement, often with an administration fee.
How long after my trip can a bus-camera penalty show up? Processing times vary. It may appear weeks later, because the notice is mailed to the owner first and then handled by the rental company before it reaches you.
