(File Photo/CKOM News Staff)

By Mat Barrett

School Bus Safety

Concerns raised in Tisdale about school bus safety

Jan 7, 2021 | 4:00 PM

School is back in session for the North East School Division (NESD), which means school busses are back on the roads.

A few recent posts on Facebook have suggested there is some concern in Tisdale with motorists not following the rules when it comes to school busses.

“Your delay is roughly 45 seconds to one minute,” one post read. “Please wait patiently while the kids load, it’s really not too much to ask.”

Sergeant Wanita Minty with the Tisdale RCMP said most people know that when the busses stop arm is out, vehicles are required to stop.

“School busses turn on their safety lights about 25 metres before they actually come to a stop,” she said. “And people that are behind the school bus need to stop as well, they can’t pass the school bus.”

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The rule does apply for both sides of the street as well, Minty said. She said the students on the bus know what to do and look both ways before crossing, saying that it isn’t that much of a delay.

“At this point there hasn’t been any recent complaints to the detachment,” Minty told northeastNOW. “But let’s have some awareness out there and hopefully that’ll remind drivers and we won’t have any tragedies.”

Minty added winter does add some extra precautions.

NESD Director of Education Don Rempel said in an email that bus safety is an ongoing issue.

“The stop arms and lights on our school busses are functioning as intended,” Rempel said. “However there are occasions when drivers are going through the school bus stop arm and lights while we are picking up/dropping off students at bus stops.”

Another post on Facebook was voicing their frustration and stating some of the laws around school busses. It said they are concerned for the children’s safety.

“I strongly believe that we need more stricter enforcement in these matters,” the post read. “Hopefully, this will discourage the drivers that don’t abide by the rules.”

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mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6