THUNDER BAY — Craig Murphy sounded rather frustrated.
"It's really concerning...The law is there for the safety of children," he said.
Murphy is the manager of Student Transportation Services of Thunder Bay, the consortium that oversees school busing.
He was reflecting on the fact that since the start of the school year, local school bus drivers have reported that 188 vehicles have passed their stopped school bus with its overhead lights flashing and the stop-arm extended.
There were 35 incidents last week alone.
Murphy said it's not a new problem, but it's not getting any better despite ongoing efforts to educate drivers about the law that requires vehicles to stop.
He noted that it's often challenging for bus drivers to record all the information that police need to issue a ticket.
The solution lies in another Ontario law that's still awaiting implementation in Thunder Bay.
Last year, the province passed legislation allowing cameras to be installed on stop-arms to get images of vehicles, and their licence plates, if they pass a bus.
The information can then be used to ticket the registered owners.
For a first offence, the penalty includes a fine up to $2,000 and six demerit points.
The legislation gives municipalities responsibility for installing the cameras and collecting fines, and a number of communities have done so.
Studies have shown that cameras reduce violations by about two-thirds.
Murphy said local school boards and bus operators support the idea, and the city has been approached on several occasions about taking action, but "unfortunately...we're still waiting for a response from the city as to whether they wish to proceed or not."
That may be about to change.
City council is expected to receive a report next month from administration clarifying what needs to be done in order to proceed.
Councillor Kirsten Oliver said there are a number of legal implications and logistics to be resolved, but she expects council will ultimately endorse the move.
"I think there should be considerable support for this, certainly, given the fact that children's safety is everything," she said.
Murphy believes the cost won't be an obstacle.
"The real kicker is, there are systems available out there. The service provider would provide all the equipment, all the monitoring, the entire system."
He said if Thunder Bay chooses to enter into an agreement with a provider, there will be "zero cost to the city, zero cost to the school boards and the bus companies," explaining that the provider will be reimbursed based on the number of convictions obtained.
