You’re driving around town with the music turned up. Suddenly, an emergency vehicle with flashing lights and its siren blaring is right behind you. Do you slow down, stop or pull over so it can pass you?

You’ve had a morning and are just trying to get to work on time. Now you’re stuck behind a school bus. Do you pass it?

You’re discussing a tense family situation with your child in the back seat. In your peripheral vision, you notice a sign indicating that a crosswalk is ahead. Do you stop at the crosswalk, or keep going as your car approaches the crosswalk?

Often, motorists think they know what to do in the above situations, but the other motorists around them are doing something completely different. Below are the laws – and the penalties – for not yielding to flashing lights, school buses or crosswalks.

Move to the right for flashing lights

Missouri Revised Statute 304.022 outlines the procedures and penalties for responding to emergency vehicles, lights and sirens.

The law states:
Upon the immediate approach of an emergency vehicle giving audible signal by siren or displaying lighted red or red and blue lights, the driver of every motor vehicle shall yield the right-of-way and immediately drive to a position parallel to, and as far as possible to the right of, the traveled portion of the highway and thereupon stop and remain in such position until such emergency vehicle has passed.

This statute also covers what is required when passing emergency vehicles stopped along busy roadways. This situation is one of the most dangerous for police officers and other emergency responders who could be killed or seriously injured if struck by a passing vehicle.

The law states that when approaching a stationary emergency vehicle displaying red and blue or amber and white lights, motorists are required to proceed with caution and yield the right-of-way. If possible, due to safety and traffic conditions, motorists are required to make a lane change into a lane not adjacent to the stopped emergency vehicle. If a lane change is not possible, motorists must reduce speed and use caution.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a total of 53 law enforcement officers were killed in traffic-related incidents nationally in 2017. 15 of these were struck and killed while outside their vehicle. The same dangers exist for other first responders. Nationally, in 2016, there was an estimated 15,425 collisions involving fire department emergency vehicles resulting in 700 firefighter injuries. 19 were struck and killed while working at the scene of a motor vehicle crash.

“Springfield police officers and firefighters, along with our EMS partners at Mercy and Cox, and our partners at MoDOT (Missouri Department of Transportation) and in the towing industry, respond to emergencies throughout our community at all hours of the day,” explains Springfield Fire Chief David Pennington. “In an emergency, time is everything. Knowing and following the law will not only help keep our responders safe while responding to and managing emergency incidents, it will also help us provide more expedient and efficient service to the community.”

Violation of this law is classified as a class A misdemeanor and can result in fines and imprisonment.

Stop behind school buses

Springfield Public Schools reports that on any given day, around 100 drivers illegally pass school buses while loading students.

The NHTSA reports that nationally, between 2006 and 2015, 102 school-age pedestrians died in school transportation-related crashes. Roughly a third of those were struck by other vehicles involved in the crashes.

Upon approaching a school bus from either direction that is stopped to pick up or drop off school children, Missouri Revised Statute 304.050 requires the driver of a motor vehicle to stop before reaching the bus and not proceed until the bus resumes motion or unless signaled by its driver to proceed.

By law, school bus drivers in the process of loading or unloading students, must activate mechanical and electrical signaling devices to communicate to drivers of other vehicles.

Drivers should learn to recognize the flashing signal system:

• Yellow flashing lights indicate the bus is preparing to stop or load or unload children. Motorists should slow down and prepare to stop their vehicles.
• Red flashing lights and extended stop arms indicate the bus stopped and children are getting on or off. Motorists approaching rom all directions must stop and wait until the red lights stop flashing, the extended stop-arm is withdrawn and the bus begins moving before they can continue driving.

Missouri statue states that any person who violates 304.050 is guilty of a class A misdemeanor and could be fined up to $1,000.

Stop at crosswalks

On average, 60 pedestrians are struck on Springfield streets per year.  A driver compliance study conducted by Public Works in 2017 showed that only one in four Springfield drivers yield to pedestrians at crosswalks.

Mandy Buettgen-Quinn, traffic safety professional for the City of Springfield, attributes some of Springfield’s failure to yield to a lack of awareness of the law.

“Drivers either may not know that they are required to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, or they aren’t aware of their surroundings enough to notice a pedestrian attempting to cross,” she explains.

According to Springfield City Code 106-451, drivers are required to yield the right-of-way, slowing down or stopping if need be, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk when the pedestrian is upon the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling or when the pedestrian is approaching so closely from the opposite half of the roadway as to be in danger.

“In general, this means that if a pedestrian is standing at the crosswalk, clearly demonstrating their intention to cross, or stepping into the roadway, a motorist is required to yield to them,” explains Buettgen-Quinn.

However, the code also specifies that pedestrians cannot suddenly walk or run into the path of a vehicle that is so close that it’s impossible for the driver to yield.

Drivers who refuse to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk could be cited for a general municipal code violation and fined.

For more information on pedestrian safety, visit springfieldmo.gov/sgfyields.