School bus safety

Cornwall, ON- The Cornwall Community Police Service are reminding motorist to be on the lookout for School Buses in our community as school will be starting within the following weeks. Motorists who do not stop for school buses is a problem that we have every year, and this threatens the safety of our children.

We are taking a “zero tolerance level” on the enforcement of this type of violations. School bus operators are also carrying violation forms, that they complete and turned over to police for investigation. This form contains details of the alleged offence such as, licence number of the offending vehicle, location, date & time of the offence, description of the driver.

Officers will also pro-actively follow school buses looking for violators and in some cases we will have officers aboard specific school buses travelling in known trouble spots. They will in turn report violators to a nearby patrol vehicle so that the offender may be apprehended and fined.

Fines for these offences are as follows,

Section 175 (11) H.T.A. Fail to stop for school bus, meeting,

$490.00 & 6 demerit points

Section 175 (12) H.T.A.

Fail to stop for school bus, overtaking,

$490.00 & 6 demerit points

Section 175 (12) H.T.A.

Stop within 20 metres of school bus.

$490.00 & 6 demerit points

The introduction of the school bus violation form has been a major factor in reducing the number of violations however, the numbers are still too high, one offence is one too many. Your children are still at risk and their safety is threatened with each of these incidents.

In conclusion, we would like to remind all motorists to be on the lookout for children on their way to and from school, and to be prepared to stop for school buses.

A Safer Cornwall, Reducing Crime Always