CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) — With school back in session and farmers getting ready for harvest season, the Champaign County Sheriff is asking people to be on the lookout while driving their cars at this time of year. That includes driving safely and at the posted speed limit.

“Children are unpredictable, which is why speeds in school zones are reduced,” Sheriff Dustin Heuerman said in a statement. “So drivers can quickly react to that unpredictability.”

Heuerman added that his deputies are spending extra time enforcing speed limits in school zones around the county. Drivers are advised to be aware and cautious in these zones to avoid getting a traffic ticket or worse, hitting a child.

“If the fear of hitting somebody and killing somebody isn’t enough, there are also financial penalties,” Heuerman said. “There are also drivers license suspensions and everything like that, that come along with that one second decision that a driver made, when really they should be paying attention to what was in front of them on the road.”

The minimum fine for speeding in a school zone in $150 for the first offense and $300 for subsequent offenses.

Heuerman also addressed the upcoming harvest season, which will see farmers heading into the field and slow-moving or stopped farm vehicles on the road. He asked that drivers use patience and caution when approaching and overtaking said vehicles.

Heuerman also warned that deputies will be on the lookout for reckless and unsafe drivers, with the primary goal of preventing traffic accidents.

Additionally, Heuerman took the opportunity to remind people of Scott’s Law, which concerns drivers approaching emergency vehicles with lights activated. Drivers are required to slow down and pass the emergency vehicle with caution. If possible, drivers must also put an entire empty lane between them and the emergency vehicle when passing.