Halton Region could soon use onboard cameras to catch drivers speeding past school buses

If approved, the first cameras would be installed for the 2019/2020 school year

Cbc.ca
July 5, 2019

In September, drivers may notice something new about school buses in Halton Region -- cameras.

Halton Regional Police are proposing a pilot project to install cameras on the outside of school buses to discourage drivers from speeding by when the stop arm is down.

Speeding past school buses? Camera footage could soon be enough to prosecute you

The pilot is a response to numerous complaints to Halton Region, local municipalities and Halton Regional Police from the community about vehicles that continually disobey the stop arm on school buses, putting kids at risk.

The pilot project will be voted on at regional council next Wednesday.

"I have seen cars just blatantly drive by," said Andrea Grebenc, chair of the board of trustees with the Halton District School Board said.

As a parent, Grebenc says there has to be more enforcement and this pilot, called Bus Guard, could be a deterrent for drivers who disobey the law.

"I feel that people should know better," she said.

"These are children, some of them as young as four years old getting on and off the bus."

According to a Halton Region council report, the videos can be used to quantify the number of violations, educate the public and eventually enforce the law.

Halton Regional Police has been working with the provincial privacy commissioner and also has plans to survey residents throughout the pilot.

If approved, the plan is to have one camera installed on at least one school bus with the goal to have it implemented at the beginning of the school year.

"I hope there's more safety on the road for our students and that drivers that aren't obeying the laws are actually caught and that there's education for those people," Grebenc said.

At least 1 or 2 violations per day
Rob Murphy, president of Ontario's Independent School Bus Association, says he supports the initiative.

"Unfortunately, we see at least one or two per day where drivers are going through stopped school buses," Murphy said.

"Our students, our future are at risk."

Murphy stresses the importance of drivers obeying the law.

"Once the wheels on a school bus come to a complete stop and the overheard red lights are flashing, motorists in both directions must stop."

In April, the provincial government said it would make regulatory changes that would allow camera footage to be sufficient to prosecute drivers for speeding past school buses, without the current requirement for a witness to appear in court.

Murphy said this would benefit the operators because often they don't have time to get the vehicle licence of the oncoming motorists. It would also relieve drivers from having to take days off for court -- which is also a problem because the province suffers a shortage of school-bus drivers.

In a statement to CBC News, the provincial Ministry of Transportation said it is still working to develop the appropriate legal framework and that no final regulations have been developed or approved, adding "it is giving municipalities and school boards additional tools to protect students around buses."