MARATHON COUNTY, Wis. (WFRV) – A Sheriff’s Office in central Wisconsin explains that it is experiencing an increase in citations issued for motorists not obeying bus laws.

In a Facebook post by the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office, deputies explain how they have spoken with a few local bus companies, which say roughly 20 violations occur in Marathon County each week.

Deputies estimate that if that volume holds true for other bus companies across the county, “the number of violations each week would increase exponentially.”

Authorities also missed a reminder that most school buses are equipped with cameras that can help to capture license plate information of vehicles that commit violations.

Included in the Facebook post by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office was the state’s law relating to stopping for a school bus:

The operator of a vehicle that approaches from the front or rear of any school bus which has stopped on a street or highway when the bus is equipped according to s. 347.25 (2) and when it is displaying flashing red warning lights, shall stop the vehicle not less than 20 feet from the bus and shall remain stopped until the bus resumes motion or the operator extinguishes the flashing red warning lights. The operator of any school bus which approaches from the front or rear of any school bus which has stopped and is displaying flashing red warning lights shall display its flashing red lights while stopped. This subsection does not apply to operators of vehicles proceeding in the opposite direction on a divided highway.

Wisconsin State Statute 346.48 (1)