Getting the message out on school bus safety week

Some drivers are still not getting the message to stop for the school bus.

School bus safety week starts tomorrow (Monday) and North Bay OPP say the message is “I Stop, You Stop”.

Community Safety Officer Shona Camirand says the goal is to educate the public, keep children safe and reduce the number of vehicles that fail to stop for a school bus.

She says they’ll be out counting the number of vehicles in a week that go through the school bus lights.

“So we get a really good picture, right now we’re just capturing it with the amount of calls we get,” Camirand says. “We had 125 calls over the last five years, but there’s many that aren’t reported, as well. If drivers aren’t able get a good description of the vehicle, they generally don’t call it in.”

Officials will be hosting today’s Battalion game, they’re posting on social media all week and they’ll be at Phelps Public School in Redbridge on Tuesday with some Battalion players to talk school bus safety with the kids.

Penalties for not stopping for a school bus can range from $400 to $4,000, up to six months in jail and six demerit points upon conviction for drivers.

City police, meantime, will be following morning and afternoon bus routes in North Bay and Callander this week.

They say there will be zero tolerance for infractions.