Some drivers are ignoring school bus stop signs and flashing lights in the Butler and South Butler school districts.

"I've heard of cars going around the right side of buses to get around them," said Brenda Collins, supervisor of transportation in the Butler School District, where classes began last week.

Motorists throughout Butler County need to be aware of school buses back on roads and streets. Several school districts already are open, and all schools will be open by next week.

In Butler, motorists are most likely to pass school buses loading and unloading students on Route 8, Hansen Avenue and Jefferson Street, said Roxanne Wehr, manager of Valley Lines, which runs Butler's 140 buses.

"Any road that has two lanes going in one direction," Wehr said, is where these incidents often occur.

In the South Butler district, which has 30 buses, bus drivers most often experience scofflaws on the district's busiest roads: routes 8, 228, and 356.

"We've had bus drivers complain about cars passing them while they're stopped," said Jason Davidek, South Butler's director of public relations and transportation.

The Pennsylvania School Bus Stopping Law requires vehicles to stop when they meet a school bus with its red signal light flashing and its stop sign extended. The rule applies in all directions, at intersections, on roads with ridged or grooved dividers and on roads with painted lines.

To increase awareness of the law, South Butler is partnering with Clinton Township to post signs about the law in its businesses.

"We want our students to be safe," Davidek said. South Butler's first day of school is Tuesday.

Annually, more than 1,000 motorists violate the school bus stopping law, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. If convicted, motorists can lose their licenses for 60 days, receive five points on their driving records and be fined $250, according to PennDOT.

In the Butler district, vehicles often break the rule on Route 8, Collins said.

"Drivers think that because there is a middle (turning) lane, they don't have to stop," Collins said. "But there has to be a physical barrier like a median strip or a grassy lane," for vehicles going in the opposite direction to proceed legally.

The law says cars are required to stop at least 10 feet away from a school bus and wait until the red lights have stopped flashing and the stop arm is down before they move. Drivers also should ensure that students have reached safety.

To get a conviction of a driver who has broken the law, bus drivers must provide a visual description of the driver, a license plate number, and turn the information over to police within 48 hours, Wehr said.

"We want those that we get to be processed," Wehr said, "because for everyone we've gotten, there are at least a dozen we don't get."

For information about Pennsylvania's School Bus Stopping Law or to download a fact sheet, visit www.drivesafepa.org.