We’re all busy. Life rarely slows down when you want it to, and we tend to rush from place to place. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t slow down while driving from place to place. Creating unsafe driving situations, including speed and disobeying road signs, is a common side effect to a busy life. The Vancouver Sun recently reported a case of a driver who illegally passed a school bus that was stopped with its lights flashing lights and stop sign extended, hitting an 11-year-old boy crossing the street.
The boy is thankfully not seriously injured and the driver turned himself in. But situations like these are not isolated. A study in the US has shown that on average 50,000 cars in New York illegally pass school buses every day.
In B.C., the Motor Vehicle Act s. 149, states that vehicles must stop before approaching the bus that is a designated school bus, stopped on a highway, and has its stop sign displayed and lights flashing.
More importantly, the bus is stopped with lights flashing to warn drivers and announce that children are getting on or off the bus. It’s important for the safety of our children that drivers stop a safe distance away and do not drive past the school bus to prevent children from getting hurt, or worse.
Parents, it’s also important to teach your children not to play around or on the bus and to keep their environment as safe as possible. Remind kids to look before they cross the street even if the bus stop sign is extended and the lights are on.
