§ 1174. Overtaking and passing school bus. (a) The driver of a vehicle
upon a public highway, street or private road upon meeting or overtaking
from either direction any school bus marked and equipped as provided in
subdivision twenty of section three hundred seventy-five of this chapter
which has stopped on the public highway, street or private road for the
purpose of receiving or discharging any passengers, or which has stopped
because a school bus in front of it has stopped to receive or discharge
any passengers, shall stop the vehicle before reaching such school bus
when there is in operation on said school bus a red visual signal as
specified in subdivision twenty of section three hundred seventy-five of
this chapter and said driver shall not proceed until such school bus
resumes motion, or until signaled by the driver or a police officer to
proceed. For the purposes of this section, and in addition to the
provisions of section one hundred thirty-four of this chapter, the term
"public highway" shall mean any area used for the parking of motor
vehicles or used as a driveway located on the grounds of a school or of
a board of cooperative educational services facility or any area used as
a means of access to and egress from such school or facility.

(b) The driver of such school bus, when receiving or discharging
passengers who must cross a public highway, street or private road,
shall instruct such passengers to cross in front of the bus and the
driver thereof shall keep such school bus halted with red signal lights
flashing until such passengers have reached the opposite side of such
highway, street or private road. Whether such passengers are crossing
such highway street or private road or discharging to the same side of
such highway, street or private road, the driver of such bus shall keep
such school bus halted with red signal lights flashing until such
passengers are at least fifteen feet from the bus and either off the
highway, street or private road or on a sidewalk.

(c) Every person convicted of a violation of subdivision (a) of this
section shall: for a first conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of
not less than two hundred fifty dollars nor more than four hundred
dollars or by imprisonment for not more than thirty days or by both such
fine and imprisonment; for a conviction of a second violation, both of
which were committed within a period of three years, such person shall
be punished by a fine of not less than six hundred dollars nor more than
seven hundred fifty dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one
hundred eighty days or by both such fine and imprisonment; upon a
conviction of a third or subsequent violation, all of which were
committed within a period of three years, such person shall be punished
by a fine of not less than seven hundred fifty dollars nor more than one
thousand five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one
hundred eighty days or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(d) For the purposes of this section, the term "passengers" shall mean
those persons designated in paragraph (d) of subdivision twenty of
section three hundred seventy-five of this chapter.