Ottawa unveiled a project on Wednesday that will see cameras installed in the stop arms of school buses.
“Anything that enhances student safety around the school bus loading area is positive,” the CEO of Tri-Board Transportation Gord Taylor tells My Bancroft Now after the news broke. He adds that it’s taken longer than it should to get this initiated in the province because of privacy issues. “We always talk about school bus safety issues around the two es – education and enforcement,” Taylor says. “This certainly helps on the enforcement side.”
“One of the other developments that is being discussed is an extended stop arm,” he says. The newly designed arm would extend six feet out.
He says that another important aspect of school bus safety is bus drivers. He says they need to be able to read the situation to make sure students are safe before he lets them off and as they’re crossing the street. “Parents are also a huge part of the safety formula for students,” Taylor adds. He says they need to make sure students understand that they need to pay attention to the bus drivers commands. “That teaching happens at the kitchen table,” he says.