A sharp increase in the number of vehicles passing a school bus that has stopped, and has the "stop" arm extended with the lights flashing has the Western School Division (WSD) speaking out.
WSD Superintendent Stephen Ross noted, last year they had one occurence of someone passing a bus in that situation. This fall, six recorded incidents have already been sent to the Morden Police Service by the division.
"We have had an additional 3 or 4 incidents that the stop arm was coming out with the camera on, that we weren't able to record the plate," said Ross. "So that's almost a ten time increase over last year and we're halfway through the school year, so we're really concerned about the safety for kids. It's just about being cognizant that there are little people there, that are either getting on or off a bus, and taking those extra few seconds to stop and then proceed when safe to do so, is the right way to go."
Under the Highway Traffic Act, vehicles traveling in both directions are required to stop for a bus with its stop-arm extended and lights flashing, and are not to proceed until the arm is closed and the lights are turned off.
In the last couple of weeks, Ross noted WSD also had a school bus rear-ended in a hit and run.
"School buses aren't that hard to see. They're bright orange and they're very large, and so we are concerned about that as well too. I think people are just moving a little too quickly, not paying attention. Again, we're trying to make sure kids get safely to and from school."
Another area of concern involves safety around the 4-way stops located near a number of WSD schools, added Ross.
"In Morden, right now, we're seeing a lot of 'pump and go.' We're not seeing a lot of stop, and kids are crossing the street at lunch, they're going to school in the morning, they're going home at lunch, they're coming back at lunch, they're going home at the end of the day. And some people are not stopping at all at those intersections. Some are actually driving straight through and not even hitting the brakes to slow down. So those things are concerning to us."
Ross added the Morden Police Service has been excellent in trying to help monitor a number of these places, but they can't be everywhere all the time.