Some Greater Sudbury motorists just aren’t getting the message, and have continued neglecting to stop for school buses whose red lights are flashing.
At the start of the school year in September, seven school buses in the city with built-in cameras recorded more than 100 occurrences involving almost 250 vehicles failing to stop for them.
“This is unacceptable and highly concerning,” Greater Sudbury Police Service recently wrote on their Facebook page.
The highest complaint areas include the areas of Garson, Regent Street to Walford Road, Falconbridge Road, Lorne Street between Gutcher Avenue and Tuddenham Avenue, and MR55 at Eve Street.
“We remind motorists to pay attention and watch out for school buses,” the GSPS statement said. “All drivers must stop for stopped school buses with red lights flashing. All drivers means drivers in all lanes of traffic in every direction.”
On Friday morning, police reported that Sgt. Ramsay and Cst. Nickel conducted a focused patrol, and within minutes a driver was caught failing to stop for a stopped school bus with red lights activated. The incident resulted in a $490 fine.
The Ministry of Transportation notes that motorists must stop whenever approaching a stopped school bus with its red lights flashing, regardless of whether they are behind the bus or approaching it from the front.
“When approaching the bus from the front, stop at a safe distance for children to get off the bus and cross the road in front of you,” they note. “If you are coming from behind the bus, stop at least 20 metres away. Do not go until the bus moves or the lights have stopped flashing.”
On streets with a median strip (a physical barrier such as a raised, lowered, earth or paved strip constructed to separate traffic travelling in different directions), only vehicles coming from behind the bus must stop.
On streets without a median strip, motorists must stop for school buses whose red lights are flashing, “no matter how many lanes or what the speed limit,” even outside of school hours.
Motorists who disobey this law can be fined $400 to $2,000 and get six demerit points for a first offence. Breaking the rule a second time within five years results in a fine of $1,000 to $4,000 and six demerit points, as well as potential jail time of up to six months.
More than 250 motorists recorded illegally passing school buses - Sudbury.com
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