It's that time of year again...time for school to begin. Starting this week students, parents, teachers, administrators and all other sorts of people have started the process of getting back into their school routines.

With this process comes a whole new set of rules and a few suggestions. We've compiled a list of some things to take into account when you're traveling through some of the school zones here in Deep East Texas. Some of them may seem rather routine to you, but you need to keep them in mind, nonetheless.

  • Cell phone use is PROHIBITED in school zones. Failure to comply with this comes with some pretty hefty fines.
  • It is illegal to pass a school bus while it has it's flashing red lights and stop sign out. You must also stop if you're in the opposite lane, as some children have to cross the road from their drop-off points. This all carries a hefty fine if you fail to obey.
  • School zones have considerably lower speed zones that you have to observe. This come with yet another hefty fine for failing to comply.
  • If you have to travel through a school zone on your commute, plan accordingly. It might even benefit you to leave a few minutes early. This could remove the temptation of violating the school zone speed limit from you.
  • On a related note, consider taking a different route if you know that you'll be traveling through a school zone during drop-off and/or pick-up times.
  • School buses are required to stop at railroad crossings. That means that you should be paying attention as well, so that when they stop, you stop.

Like I mentioned before, this may all seem routine or even redundant to you. However, these are just a few of the things for you to keep in mind while you're traveling during the school year.

Not only will it keep the students, faculty and staff safe, but it will also keep you safe.

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