Free independent study reference with original examples. Not official exam questions or personal legal advice. Follow current provincial rules and on-site directions.
Free practice: Speed limits, school zones and school buses →Identify whether you are meeting or overtaking the bus
On an undivided highway, both directions must stop for the specified red-light condition. On a highway divided by a median, the exception applies to the driver meeting the bus from the opposite carriageway. Following the bus on its side does not qualify.
A painted centre line is not the same fact as a median. In a practice question, look for an actual statement that the highway is divided by a median rather than inferring an exception from the number of lanes.
Source: New Brunswick Motor Vehicle Act — s. 188.1 ↗Keep the statutory release condition in the answer
The current Act says the driver must not pass until the bus is again in motion or the flashing red lights cease. A casual wave while the bus remains stopped with its red lights flashing is not one of the release conditions stated in section 188.1.
Even when the statutory red-light condition ends, check the road and children’s movements before proceeding. The end of flashing lights is not proof that every person has reached a safe place.
Source: New Brunswick Motor Vehicle Act — s. 188.1 ↗Read three layouts with different outcomes
Original worked cases
Two-lane road: you approach the front of a stopped bus showing flashing red lights. Stop at least 5 m away. Travelling in the opposite direction does not exempt you on this undivided road.
Median case: the bus is stopped on the other carriageway of a highway divided by a median, and you are meeting it. Section 188.1(3) supplies the exception. A driver behind that bus remains subject to the stop rule.
Wave case: the stopped bus continues flashing red while someone gestures. Do not treat the gesture alone as permission under section 188.1. Wait for the statutory release condition and proceed only safely.
Do not borrow another province’s bus distance
The New Brunswick minimum here is 5 m. This is a school-bus stopping distance, not a school-zone speed limit or the distance for a railway stop. Identify the object and the jurisdiction before choosing a number.
Use the free speed-and-school-zone questions and sharing-road practice. The current Act is linked beside this explanation in both languages; our cases are original and do not claim access to official test items.
Source: New Brunswick Motor Vehicle Act — s. 188.1 ↗