Bus Safety & Inspection Schedules

Bus Safety

Each school year yellow buses wind their way through Iowa’s cities, towns and rural areas. It’s critical for Iowa’s drivers to be extra cautious in watching students heading to and from the buses.

Reminders for drivers:

• When the bus’s yellow flashers turn on, that signifies that it is preparing to have a child get on or off the bus. All vehicles behind the bus must come to a complete stop.
• If you are approaching a bus from the opposite direction, slow your speed to 20 mph when the bus turns on its yellow flashers.
• On a two-lane road, traffic in both directions must come to a full stop when the lights are flashing red.
• On a four-lane road, traffic moving in the opposite direction must slow down and proceed with caution when either red or yellow flashers are present.
• Stop your vehicle at least 15 feet from the bus.
• Remain stopped until the flashing lights are turned off and the stop arm is pulled back in.
• Failure to comply could result in a fine of $250 plus court costs.

Reminders for students:

• Stop and look both ways before crossing a street.
• Make sure your bus driver can see you when you are crossing in front of the bus. If you can't see the driver, the driver cannot see you.
• Never cross behind the bus.
• When getting on or off the bus, never cross the street until the bus driver signals it’s OK to cross.
• If you drop something near the bus, do not pick it up. Instead, tell the bus driver what you dropped, and let the driver instruct you on what to do.

Bus Inspection Schedules

School bus inspections are required twice each year on every vehicle that is used as a school bus in Iowa. Conducted by the Iowa Department of Education with assistance from the Iowa State Patrol, Joe Funk conducts the inspections in Eastern Iowa and Tom Simpson conducts the inspections in Western Iowa. Inspection criteria can be found in the “Maintenance and Inspections Manual” under “Publications & Reports” on this website.

View a calendar showing the statewide inspection schedule. You can filter by region by checking the corresponding box.

• East - Inspector, Joe Funk, 515-669-4987, joseph.funk@iowa.gov
• West - Inspector, Tom Simpson, 515-326-1022, tom.simpson@iowa.gov

Driver Trainings and Conferences

The links below will either take you directly to the school bus driver training schedule, continuing education link, or entity link, depending on what is available at each college or AEA.

Community Colleges and AEAs Bus Driver Training Schedules