It may be the most dangerous time of a school child’s day, the few seconds he or she is crossing the street to get on a school bus, or crossing to get home after getting off the bus.

It shouldn’t be dangerous at all. State laws all across the country require motorists to come to a complete stop when a school bus has stopped, is flashing its lights and has its stop sign arm extended. Yet drivers routinely ignore these signals and zoom past buses, with no regard to the safety of the children who might be crossing in front of them.

Several accidents across the country have been reported this past month. Three children — twin 6-year-old boys and their 9-year-old sister, were killed in Fulton County, Indiana on Oct. 30 when a pickup truck driver drove past the school bus they were crossing the street to board and hit them. Other incidents have been reported in Kentuck, Florida and Pennsylvania.

It could happen anywhere. School bus drivers will tell you that hardly a day goes by when they don’t have someone blow past their extended stop arms.

If you are a driver, you should know the law. If you see a stop sign on a school bus, you need to stop, especially when there could be children present, coming around the far end of the school bus ahead of you.

The minute or two you have to wait is nothing compared the lifetime of guilt and regret you may have to live with if you hit a child when you were supposed to stop.