Cameras wanted for Ontario school buses
Drivers who pass buses picking up or dropping off children would be ticketed
Ontario legislators are debating the idea of using cameras on school buses to ticket drivers that illegally blow past the vehicles as children get on and off, but the government isn’t ready to commit to the measure without further study.
Local politicians and school bus companies have called on the provincial government to pass legislation that will enable video from cameras mounted on the outside of school buses to be admitted as evidence in court without a witness to back up the footage, as is currently the requirement.
Such a change in law could mean that the owners of vehicles that illegally pass school buses get tickets in the mail after being caught on camera.
But Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca said while the Liberal government is supportive of the idea, it isn’t ready to pass legislation on it without further consideration. The government has some concerns about the details of the technology involved and the legislative change it would require, he said.
“We’re going to make sure we get it right,” Del Duca said. “Moving forward with technology that doesn’t actually provide you with the outcome you’re looking for doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.”
Several jurisdictions in the U.S., including in Texas and Virginia, already use school bus cameras to ticket drivers.
A pilot project also tested the tech- nology this spring in Brantford, Mississauga, Sudbury and KitchenerWaterloo. It was conducted by a company that makes the cameras, along with municipalities, school boards and police forces.
In rural Brantford, there was one blow-by per bus every three days, but in Mississauga, the problem was the worst — occurring an average of 2.5 times per bus per day.
“We must take action to reduce these incidences and increase safety for our children,” Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie said.
“We cannot wait for serious injury or a fatality before we act.”
Currently, even with video of drivers illegally passing school buses, fines often aren’t laid because the footage can’t be considered evidence in court without a witness.
One retired bus driver said a witness can be difficult to come by because it’s hard for a bus driver to take down the licence plate of a vehicle that whizzes past a school bus while still watching students going and coming from the vehicle.
“I can honestly say I’ve witnessed some really close calls by blow-bys,” said Leo Heuvelmans, who went to Queen’s Park last week to speak about the issue.
To tackle the problem, the Progressive Conservatives proposed a private member’s bill modelled after legislation for red-light cameras, which would allow tickets to be issued through the mail to owners of vehicles that fail to stop for a school bus.
The party sought to add its bill into the Liberal government’s Safer School Zones Act as an amendment, which would have given it greater certainty of becoming law.
The government act, which is making its way through the legislature, will allow municipalities to use automated speed enforcement systems — better known as photo radar — in school zones and community safety zones, allowing speeding vehicles to be ticketed by mail, without a police officer present. It is expected to pass into law soon.
The Liberals, however, blocked the PC attempt to add the school bus cameras bill as an amendment, and accused the party of trying to delay the government’s school safety legislation and putting people’s lives at risk in the process.