School is officially back in session and the Bell County Sheriff’s Office has a friendly reminder for daily commuters.

It can be easy to get in a travel pattern during the summer months, but it is always good to remember that once school is back in session everyday activities need time to adjust – including your travel patterns.

With the start of school comes the added traffic in the morning and the afternoon hours. It includes parents dropping children off as well as picking them up, buses and the students also driving themselves to school.

The sheriff’s office reminds all morning to be alert and use caution when driving on school bus routes and through school zones – as some children can tend to run into the roadways to get to their buses.

For school buses, all traffic coming from both directions are expected to come to a complete stop for school buses when they are both loading and unloading students. This is the law for all roadways. If this law is broken and a motorist does pass a stopped school bus while it’s loading or unloading students, the motorist is subject to a citation.

The sheriff’s office also noted that students are also responsible for their safety, and the students are encouraged to learn and respect proper safety concerns and rules when walking home or taking the bus.