PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) — Local law enforcement is reminding drivers about the rules of the road. It’s called  ‘Operation Safe Kids’.

A statewide operation titled operation safe kids has the goal of bringing attention to school buses and school zones

As part of this safety initiative, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office is increasing law enforcement presence to warn unsafe drivers who speed in school zones.

“You know, people have been going all summer. They’ve been going to work. They’ve been, you know, taking care of things that could drive every day. And they forget that that may be a school zone. And so, they need a little reminder. And we’re going to help them out. We’re going to bring some attention to that all week long,” said Bay County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Ruth Corley.

Drivers need to treat the stop sign that comes out of the bus as a legitimate stop sign.

Drivers who are traveling in the opposite direction must also stop if the median is not raised and is less than five feet long.

“Going in the opposite direction from the way the bus is traveling. You don’t have to stop but if it is like 23rd Street or parts of Thomas Drive, there’s no median, there’s no raised area, there’s no barrier. If you’re going the opposite direction, you have to stop while that bus is stopped,” said Corley.

Passing a bus while it’s stopped is not a cheap price that could land someone in court

Passing a bus on a multi-lane paved road could cost a driver up to $270 and four points off their license.

The goal is not to harm people’s wallets but educate them on the laws surrounding schools and the safety of students.

“I want them to know why we stopped them and to have a corrective action in place. It doesn’t mean that getting a ticket is going to hurt a bank account because it doesn’t necessarily. It could just be education on the stop that a traffic violation did occur and that they’re now aware of it,” said Bay County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Thomas Young.

Even though the initiative ends on Friday, Aug. 25 law enforcement will still be keeping an eye on motorists who ignore the school zones all year long.