A school bus ahead has its yellow warning lights flashing on the front and back near the roof. What does the manual tell you to do?
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A.
Stop at least 20 feet back and wait for the bus to move
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B.
Decrease speed and be prepared to stop Correct
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C.
Sound your horn and continue past at the posted limit
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D.
Pull to the right shoulder and turn on hazard lights
The answer is "Decrease speed and be prepared to stop"
Yellow warning lights are the bus driver's signal that a stop is coming, so drivers decrease speed and prepare to stop rather than stopping outright. Rolling the red-light stopping rule forward one stage is what pulls drivers to A, treating the warning phase as the event it is only announcing.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Stop at least 20 feet back and wait for the bus to move
The 20-foot stop applies when the bus is already stopped with red lights flashing, not while yellow lights are still warning of a coming stop. This answer rolls the red-light rule forward one stage and treats the warning as the event itself.
C. Sound your horn and continue past at the posted limit
Continuing at the posted speed ignores the coming stop the yellow lights announce. This answer reflects the driver habit of treating any yellow indicator as a signal to speed up and clear it.
D. Pull to the right shoulder and turn on hazard lights
Pulling onto the shoulder is the response reserved for emergency vehicles, not for a school bus preparing to stop. This answer borrows the emergency-vehicle yielding routine and applies it to the wrong signal.
This question tests your knowledge of Passing in New York. Source: New York State Driver's Manual, "School Buses," p.40..
Related New York questions
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- You have stopped for a school bus that is picking up children. According to the manual, when may you drive again? →
- What is the minimum fine for a first conviction of passing a stopped school bus with its red lights flashing? →
- You are convicted of passing a stopped school bus three times within three years. What is the minimum consequence the manual describes? →
- After you stop for a school bus and the bus begins moving again, what does the manual tell you to do as you drive past? →
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