Changes to 40 kilometre an hour community safety zones around area schools are not stopping drivers who are continuing to run school bus stop signs.
That’s according to Stock Bus Lines General Manager Lena Cormier.
“To see anything that supports school bus safety, that’s fantastic,” said Cormier.
“However the 40 kilometres an hour signs are just signs, but let's face it, it doesn’t stop people from speeding through school zones but at least it's a visual reminder - a constant reminder that you are entering a school zone.”
Cormier is looking at some other ways to solve the problem but she believes it has a lot to do with distracted drivers who are too impatient to follow behind a school bus when its dropping off or picking up children.
“I don’t think it’s hard to figure out, I think it's just distracted driving period,” she said.
“People are driving their vehicles and they are thinking what they are going to be making for supper or what they are going to do when they get home and they are not concentrating behind the wheel.”
The North Bay Police Service is doing what it can to support the frustrated school bus drivers and the young passengers.
“I can honestly speak to the fact that we’ve had numerous infractions, most that have been reported to me directly from Stock Bus Lines here in North Bay. As the police department, we are doing our best to enforce the highway traffic act laws. Unfortunately, we can’t commit and dedicate every one of the police officers to do specific bus duty, although we are trying our very best,” stated North Bay Police Constable Ken Ayres.
“I can speak to the fact that I have issued a few tickets in relation to individuals passing a stopped school bus. To be honest, it’s not arrogance it’s not even ignorance. There’s just some passive reason why their attention is not where it needs to be and these individuals who I am speaking about are accepting of the fine because they realize what they have done is wrong and I know they will pass that on to friends and family. It will be a continuing educational effort.”
Fines for drivers who pass a stopped school bus with the upper red lights flashing go from $400 to $2,000 and six demerit points for a first offence and $1,000 to $4,000, six demerit points and possible jail time for a second offence.
Cormier believes more drivers need to know that it's not about the fines or demerit points, it’s all about the safety of the young children riding the school buses.
“My message to the community is not about the two people who were convicted (for running a school bus stop sign). It’s not about the convictions. It’s about the awareness that you can’t necessarily go through the red light and get away with it. You can go through the red lights and possibly kill or injure a child.”
