Family calls for cameras on buses after child killed by passing vehicle

A new camera system could soon result in tickets for drivers in Southern Ontario if they fail to obey the rules around school buses. One man is pushing for the idea after his younger brother was killed in a crash.

Pierre Ranger’s five-year old brother Adam was killed after he got off a school bus 19 years ago. As Adam crossed the road, a vehicle did not stop for the flashing lights or stop arm and he was killed instantly.

Since then, Ranger has been fighting to make busses safer. He has reached out to every municipality in the province and asked them to put stop arm cameras on school buses.

Last year, Hamilton police charged five drivers for running the stop sign and flashing lights. Drivers who pass a school bus with the lights flashing and the stop arm extended could face fines of $400 to $2,000 and six demerit points.

Transportation officials say stop arm cameras would take the pressure off school bus drivers.

Police understand there could be some confusion but to simplify, as soon as a school bus starts flashing its lights, every driver has to stop unless there’s a median separating the road. In that case, traffic on the other side of the median can still drive.