MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - With school back is session, school bus safety comes with it. The Ingham County Sheriff's office wants to make sure motorist are taking the right safety precautions and following school zone safety laws. They hope but educating drives and raising awareness to prevent tragedy in the future.

School buses use their over head signals when preparing to stop. Overhead signals will first flash yellow to warn drivers they are about to make a stop. The lights will then turn red and a stop sign signal will appear. When this happens drives are absolutely not allowed to pass the school bus. The red signals mean children are either exiting of entering the bus. It is illegal in all 50 states for cars to pass at this time

If the school bus is using it's low yellow hazard lights it is okay for drivers to slowly pass by on the left. "Lights up top, you must stop- Lights down low, you may proceed slow," is a slogan that motorist can use to help them remember when it is and isn't okay to pass a school bus.

Also motorist are asked to take alert, as children are unpredictable. The area 10 feet around the school bus is where a child is in the most danger. Remember to leave enough space between you and the bus then stopped.

Lastly, Just drive. Distracted driving is anything that takes you attention away from the road. Any distractions are dangerous to drivers, passengers, and bystanders