School bus crashes down last year
No students injured for first time in seven years
WATERLOO REGION — School buses crashed less often last year and no student was hurt, beyond first aid.
It’s the first time in seven years that no student injuries were reported from bus collisions.
“Transportation continues to be very safe for students,” says the public agency that buses students at local public and Catholic schools.
School buses were involved in 48 collisions in 2015-2016 says the annual report for Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region. That’s six fewer crashes than the previous year but is well above the 12 collisions reported six years earlier.
The agency says it revised kindergarten drop-offs to improve safety for the most vulnerable students. It conducted a public awareness campaign by radio.
It highlighted the risks that students face when motorists unlawfully blow past school buses that are stopped with lights flashing and traffic arms extended.
Local school boards have asked Waterloo regional government to install traffic cameras on up to 372 school buses, to record and ticket motorists. The request is stalled over
concerns about its $6-million cost and who’s in control.
A camera supplier conducted a traffic test that suggested up to 25,000 tickets could be issued at $490 each during a school year. Fines would greatly exceed camera costs but the proposal differs in legislation and practice from red light cameras.
The bus agency continues to press for traffic cameras while pursuing other safety initiatives. These include focusing on defensive driving, revised training on how to escape school buses, and participating in a school bus safety week.
Local school boards spend $20 million a year busing students. The average student spends 14 minutes riding one way. The average elementary student walks 144 metres to catch the bus. The average high school student walks twice as far at 291metres.
The bus agency has reduced the longest travel times (50 minutes or greater) for a few special needs students. It’s gaining efficiency by increasing the number of bus runs per route, and by using the biggest buses longer. Today a single bus transports up to 280 students, on multiple runs. The agency handled 67 busing appeals in the last school year and granted nine. This includes a surge in complaints from French immersion students who don’t qualify for busing.