THUNDER BAY — A federal move to improve safety on school buses has brought an enthusiastic response from Craig Murphy, the man who oversees student transportation in the Thunder Bay area.
Transport Canada announced Monday it will mandate the installation of perimeter visibility systems, which are a series of cameras mounted on the outside that allow bus drivers to ensure no one is around the vehicle before it's put into gear.
"We're very pleased to hear they've chosen to go that route," said Murphy, manager of Student Transportation Services of Thunder Bay.
The surround-view systems will be required on all new buses as of November 1, 2027, making Canada the first country in the world to make the technology mandatory.
Implementation follows a 2020 report of a task force on school bus safety that recommended enhanced protection for children outside buses, where they face the greatest risk.
"In school busing, we often talk about the danger zone, several feet out from the bus that students must always stay clear of. There's lots of mirrors on buses for the driver to try to see those areas, but unfortunately the back of the bus is one area they can't really see," Murphy said.
"This system will enhance the ability to see anyone standing within several feet of, you know, the total 360 degrees around the bus."
Murphy said school buses are already the safest vehicles on the road, with features built in to protect students both inside and outside, but he expects this new measure will be well-received throughout the industry.
"Certainly, if technology becomes available to improve that, I can't imagine anyone who would not be happy about that," he said.
At the beginning of the school year, Murphy also advocated for cameras on the stop arms as a way to identify drivers who fail to stop for school buses, which police have described as a widespread problem in Thunder Bay.
He noted Monday that recent statistics show the trend is in the wrong direction.
In the 2023/2024 school year, there was an average of 6.6 incidents per day in which vehicles proceeded past stopped buses.
Through the halfway mark of the 2024/2025 school year, that rate has increased to an average of 7.7 incidents each day.
"It is illegal to to pass a stopped school bus. If you're not going to stop because it's the law, at least stop because you know you may be jeopardizing the life of a child," Murphy said.
