Expect more cameras on school buses next fall as the province tries to cut down on vehicles passing stopped school buses.
Jeff Yurek, Minister of Transportation today announced new measures to give municipalities more tools to target drivers who threaten the safety of children crossing roads from school buses.
The proposed regulations would allow for more efficient enforcement and prosecution by allowing evidence from cameras to be used in court without the requirement of an additional witness.
"We intend to create a regulatory framework that would allow for more efficient enforcement and prosecution to keep our children safer," said Yurek.
Ontario also plans to introduce legislation that would allow municipalities to target drivers with new, additional monetary penalties.
No further details were released.
"We fully support Minister Yurek and his government's announcement of regulatory change to permit the use of school bus stop-arm cameras as evidence of passing a stopped school bus," said Rob Murphy, President of the Independent School Bus Operator Association. "We have been looking forward to this announcement for some years. This announcement will help ensure children across our province will continue to be transported safely to and from school."
Each school day, more than 837,000 students travel in a school vehicle in Ontario.
