Drivers ignoring school bus lights

The other day, we watched as four cars passed the school bus while our children were boarding on the corner of Sherbrooke Street and Vendôme Avenue in N.D.G.

The stop sign on the bus had been activated, the lights were flashing, and yet it clearly mattered not at all to multiple drivers. One car actually sped up while passing.

In fact, we watch almost daily as vehicles violate Quebec’s Highway Safety Code that requires drivers to stop at least five metres away — in either direction — when the bus turns on its flashing lights or deploys its stop sign.

There are penalties in the form of fines (up to $300) and demerit points (nine) to deter this behaviour, but without enforcement, they are meaningless.

Last year, a report issued by BusPatrol revealed approximately 30,000 such violations every day in Quebec. The lives of our children — and others who cross the road assuming vehicles will stop — are being put at risk.

Why is this tolerated? Why are there not more public information campaigns targeting motorists? Why not install cameras — on the buses themselves, even — to catch violators? Something must be done. The police, the City of Montreal and the Ministry of Transport, among others, must not neglect their responsibilities. Elaine Weiner and Katalin Endrodi, N.D.G.