MADISON, Wis. -- As another school year begins, veteran school bus drivers said that many people either don't know the rules of the road when it comes to school buses, or they simply ignore them because they're in too much of a hurry.

"I think they just don't want to stop. They want to keep going," said Jack Goddard, a bus driver.

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, an average of 33 children are killed each year from school bus-related incidents. Most of them happen outside of the bus when children are pedestrians.

"People need to be aware. They see a school bus, there are going to be children around," said Dave Rasmussen from First Student in Verona.

Rasmussen said the rules are very simple: when you see the flashing red lights, you must stop at least 20 feet away.

But Rasmussen said mistakes are made.

"They'll come to a complete stop thinking it's like a stop sign and then they can proceed," Rasmussen said. "They can't; they need to wait until that stop arm comes in."

The bottom line is that unless drivers on a divided highway, they have to stop from all directions and wait, WISC-TV reported.

In general, Rasmussen said the best thing drivers can do is slow down when a school bus is in sight because it usually means children are nearby, and their moves can be unpredictable.

Goddard said he does his best to watch out for everyone on the road, including children who ride his bus and other drivers.

"You get a little frustrated," Goddard said. "But you've got to kind of keep your cool and more or less you're doing a lot of defensive driving."

For drivers who violate the law, fines start at around $200, WISC-TV reported.

And police aren't the only ones watching. Bus drivers also have the ability to report a violation. As long as they get a license plate number, police can give a driver a ticket from that bus driver's report.