Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS) yesterday warned motorists to be careful around schools after catching a driver who drove past a stopped school bus which children were boarding.
On Thursday, September 4 at 8:35 am, East Division officers were stopped behind a school bus at Bowmanville Avenue and Clarington Concession Road 3. As children were boarding, officers saw a vehicle drive past the bus on the right shoulder, police said.
They said the bus had its red lights flashing and stop arm extended, yet the driver made no attempt to stop. As the vehicle passed the bus, a parent was helping their young child onto the bus.
Officers stopped the vehicle and charged the 37-year-old female driver with Fail to Stop for School Bus when Approached from Rear with Lights Flashing and Bus Stopped.
She was fined $490 and got six demerit points.
Speeding in Front of a School
On Wednesday, officers stopped a driver going 85kmh in a posted 60kmh zone—right in front of a school.
With students walking, biking, and being dropped off at school, these speed limits are in place to keep our kids safe. Speeding through a school zone puts lives at risk, police said.
Police reminded driver to remember:
- If a school bus has its red lights flashing and stop arm out, all traffic must stop unless you are on a road with a median strip – then only vehicles coming from behind the bus must stop. (A median is a physical barrier such as a raised, lowered, earth or paved strip constructed to separate traffic travelling in different directions. Vehicles cannot cross over a median strip).
- Passing a stopped school bus is not only illegal, it puts children’s lives in danger.
“Let’s keep our roads safe for students this school year,” said the police.