Fall is fast approaching, cooler nights, getting dark earlier, plans are in the air for county fairs and the surest sign is school has started back.

 I’d like to concentrate on school being back in session by reminding everyone to be cautious at school bus stops.  I would like to ask each of you to take a little more time driving to work to be able t o be more aware and careful of those school buses stopping to pick up our children.  I want to stress to you that Deputies will be watching out for vehicles that fail to stop for or pass a stopped school bus. Penalties are pretty stiff and adding that extra few minutes to your travel time could end up saving you a lot of money in fines and the life of one of our children.

 Arkansas law states, in part, that any person convicted of passing a stopped school bus shall be fined no less than $250 nor more than $1,000 or be confined to the county jail not to exceed 90 days or both fined and imprisoned.  In addition to the above penalties, the court may order a person convicted of passing a stopped school bus to perform up to 400 hours of community service and shall suspend the driver’s license of that person for at least 21 days and not more than 1 year.  This is just for a first offense – subsequent offenses carry much harsher penalties.

 Going on to a subject that is closely related is the Arkansas law that requires motorists to move over for stopped emergency vehicles.  This law requires that motorists are to move to the farthest lane from the emergency response vehicle or law enforcement vehicle and remain in that lane until past those vehicles and any other vehicle involved in the emergency or traffic stop.

 The law states that if changing lanes is not possible or is determined to be unsafe, an approaching motor vehicle operator shall reduce the motor vehicles speed, proceed with caution, and maintain a reduced speed, appropriate to the road and the condition, through the area where the emergency response vehicle or law enforcement vehicle is stopped.

 I hope you will all be more aware of these two laws and watch out for our children and those folks who may be involved in emergencies or law enforcement situations.  Our children are standing on our county roadsides every morning and afternoon and it is our intent to do all we can to protect them.

 We would ask that you do everything within your power to assist us in this important task. We would also ask that you respect emergency responders and law enforcement officers by obeying the laws concerning those types of situations and save yourself time and money by not getting a ticket.

 Take your families and enjoy the upcoming county fairs, attend school related functions and above all have a wonderful time enjoying our Ozark fall time.