Cameras have been installed on some of school buses in the region in hopes of reducing the number of cars passing them when they are picking up or dropping off students.
The cameras are part of Aspen View Public Schools’ (AVPS) Red Means Stop campaign.
“We’ve had a couple of incidents, primarily on Highway 55 and on Highway 63, where we’ve had vehicles, including large trucks, running past our school buses when the stop sign’s been out and the red and yellow lights (have) been flashing,” explained AVPS secretary-treasurer Rodney Boyko.
The school board has tried to adjust the bus routes so the kids walk right off the bus into their driveways, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe for vehicles to drive past a bus with flashing lights.
What has been the solution in the past was for the bus drivers to attempt to write down the license plate and type of vehicle that’s “flying past.”
“But that takes away from their ability to be monitoring the whole situation,” said Boyko.
“The idea (with the cameras) is that the bus drivers can focus on their job, which is to safely transfer the students to and from school.”
The cameras won’t be installed on every bus, but the buses that they are installed on will be rotated throughout the division. Although the biggest concerns are on the major highways near Athabasca, the buses will spend some time in the towns.
The cameras will track the vehicles passing the buses, which the school board will send to the authorities.
“It’ll help the drivers be able to concentrate on their jobs and it’ll help the authorities be able to assist in the prosecution,” added Boyko.
“We just would like for people to know that there is something out there to record that.”
In essence, the cameras are going to be an educational tool.
Earlier in the school year, they saw the number of vehicles passing buses go down after an education campaign. This number has since gone up again.
“We’re looking to decrease those numbers. We do monitor the number of fly-bys so we can adjust the routes as needed. Our first priority is the safety of the students,” he said.
