Lord Selkirk School Division has 50 buses travelling over 1 million kilometers each year to transport nearly 3000 students to school.
The "Think of Us on the Bus" Campaign has been developed to help keep our students safe by addressing the problem of traffic passing school buses while their red lights and stop sign are activated. When we started looking into this, we realized traffic "Running our Reds" was an issue, but didn't realize how often it really happens. Based on our surveys, it happens, on average, 36 times per day!
This school year, the RCMP has issued 95% more tickets than last school year. We sincerely appreciate their support and hope the message continues to get out.
School Bus Safety
School buses are among the safest vehicles on the road, especially in terms of protecting their precious cargo. Children are at the greatest risk when they're getting on and off the bus.
School buses are equipped with special mirrors installed at the front and STOP arms to help keep children safe. Safety equipment alone cannot guarantee accidents never happen-motorists, parents and kids all play a role in school bus safety.
For motorists:
- Flashing yellow lights on the school bus indicate that the bus is getting ready to stop and load or unload. This means that you need to slow down and get ready to stop.
- Flashing red lights indicate that the bus has stopped and that children are getting on or off. It is illegal to pass a school bus from either direction once it is stopped and has its lights activated unless there is a physical barrier (such as a median) between your vehicle and the bus.
- As soon as the bus driver turns on the flashing red lights, drivers coming from both directions must immediately stop at least five metres from the bus and remain stopped until the lights stop flashing, the STOP arm folds away and the bus begins to move.
- Be extremely cautious around school buses and remember that young children are prone to sudden movements.