School buses — Maryland Permit Test
School buses on the Maryland permit test — 3 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
If a school bus has stopped on the road with its flashing red lights on, you must stop at least 20 feet from the back of it if you are behind, and at least 20 feet from the front if you are in front.
Children walk around the front of the bus where the driver behind cannot see them at all.
Stop at least 20 feet from the back of the school bus, if you are behind it.
You may not start moving again until the school bus starts moving or turns off its flashing red lights.
The lights going out is the driver telling you the children are clear.
You may not start moving again until the school bus starts moving or turns off its flashing red lights.
On a multiple lane road divided by a physical barrier, you do not stop for a school bus that is on the other side of the barrier.
The barrier is what keeps the children out of your lane; without one there is no exception.
If you are on a multiple lane road divided by a physical barrier, do not stop if the bus is on the other side of the barrier.
On the test
How far from a stopped school bus with flashing red lights must you stop?
At least 20 feet. Children walk around the front of the bus where the driver behind cannot see them at all. Maryland Driver's Manual, p.38: “Stop at least 20 feet from the back of the school bus, if you are behind it.”
How this works
Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.
You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.
Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.
What it costs
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Where these come from
Every rule here is checked against Maryland Driver's Manual, published by the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-06.