As families prepare for the new school year, police are reminding the public to be mindful when driving around town.
According to Bracebridge OPP Const. Samantha Bigley, school safety takes everyone’s involvement, including students, motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists.
“Everyone has to be participating and following the rules and making sure that students get to school safely,” said Bigley. “It takes effort on everyone’s part who’s using the road.”
Bigley said parents should be proactive and have conversations with their kids ahead of time about safety rules on a school bus.
“There are some students who are adjusting to a new routine, some kids who are new to school,” she said. “It’s not a bad idea to talk about bus buddies and make sure that kids are getting off at their proper stop.”
Bigley said drivers must be considerate and patient with school buses as “it’s a very serious job that they have.”
“There are lots of things happening on school buses,” she said.
Huntsville OPP Const. Dana Morris is reminding drivers to be aware of school buses on the road. If a school bus has its red lights flashing and stop arm extended, motorists in both directions must stop, and not start moving again until the red lights have stopped flashing and the stop arm has been retracted.
The charge for failing to stop for a school bus comes with a $490 fine and six demerit points.
She also said that when approaching a crosswalk with a crossing guard, motorists must follow their direction and wait until both the students and the crossing guard are “completely off the roadway” before proceeding.
Morris said officers will be patrolling school zones to deter motorists from driving in a manner that creates risks for students, pedestrians, and cyclists.
