South Bruce Peninsula Councillor Caleb Hull wants to see cameras on the stop arms of school buses.
He made a motion at last week’s council meeting, noting, “Almost 824,000 students travel in about 16,000 school vehicles every school day in Ontario and according to the Ministry of Transportation’s statistics, the rate of vehicles passing stopped school buses is over 30,000 times every day.”
Hull says Province of Ontario passed the Safer School Zones Act in 2017 which authorized the use of Automated School Bus Stop Arm Camera Systems to detect incidents where vehicles failed to stop when the school bus was stopped and the stop-arm extended (O. Reg. 424/20)
He wants to urge the provincial government to require all school buses to have stop arm cameras installed and paid for by the Province for the start of the 2023-2024 school year.
Hull says he essentially duplicated a resolution by circulated by the Municipality of North Perth. He says that resolution included a province wide estimate that school buses are passed 30,000 times a day, which he says is unbelievable. “I thought that even if it was 3,000 a day it would be far too much. If it was 300 a day it would be too much.” Hull says the resolution notes the cameras could be paid for through penalties issued to those who violate the law.
Hull says he’s been talking with bus drivers, noting, “The ones that are on the highway— it is a daily occurrence and it’s sickening.”
He says, “These bus drivers have to ensure the kids are getting out safe, and if we expect enforcement, they also have to be required to get the licence plate and go through a whole process at their home when they finish their shift. I think that we’re just reaching a point in technology where we can urge the provincial government to just usher in common technology to assist in enforcement to make school bus travel far safer.”
During discussion, Hull’s motion received supportive feedback from councillors.
Staff have been directed to investigate whether the resolution should include possible comment on recent changes to school bus lighting.
Back in July, 2022, Ontario began requiring all school buses manufactured after 2004 to be equipped with four overhead amber signal-lights and four overhead red signal-lights. The previous system in Ontario had used red lights only.
If passed at a future meeting, the resolution would be be circulated to Premier Doug Ford, Attorney General Doug Downey, Minister of Education Stephen Lecce, provincial opposition parties, Mathew Rae MPP (Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing), the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and all neighbouring municipalities of the Town of South Bruce Peninsula.
The Town of Minto and Howick Township have supported North Perth’s resolution which North Perth passed March 6th.
The Province of Ontario says on its website, “You must stop whenever you approach a stopped school bus with its upper alternating red lights flashing, regardless of whether you are behind the bus or approaching it from the front…Do not go until the bus moves or the lights have stopped flashing.” The province says if you don’t stop, you can be fined $400 to $2,000 and receive six demerit points for a first offence. A second conviction within five years has a penalty of $1,000 to $4,000 and six demerit points. You could also go to jail for up to six months.
