A new school bus safety campaign is being launched to target unsafe drivers.
The Ontario Provincial Police are taking active steps to combat a recent spike in school bus crashes with a new traffic enforcement campaign aimed at ensuring school children are safe.
The campaign called "Safety Stops Here" will run this week, and West Region OPP officers from 13 detachments - including Essex County - will be conducing blitzes for school bus runs.
Officers will focus their efforts on drivers who fail to stop for school buses, as well as focus on motorists who engage in unsafe driving behaviours like unsafe passing, speeding and following too closely.
Derek Rogers, OPP West Region Media Relations Coordinator, says officers noticed a number of people breaking the law when it came to school buses.
"You can't take shortcuts around school buses, there's a law in place that you must stop, you must not pass a school bus when the lights are flashing. It's all about child safety. So really, it's trying to drive home that safety message to drivers."
He says officers will in marked and unmarked vehicles along bus routes this week.
"They're looking for those who don't stop for school buses with activated stop arms. In addition, they're looking at drivers who are passing unsafely, speeding, or following too closely."
Rogers says he doesn't understand what is so important that people don't stop for buses.
"Are you late for work? Are you late for an appointment? What's worse - passing a school bus and god forbid you hit somebody, you hit a child, what's worse? Being late for an appointment, or harming a child? I think the math is pretty stark when it comes to that question."
OPP West Region is launching the campaign after officers responded to 12 school bus collisions in the last month alone.
While no injuries were reported, the frequency and risk to student safety is a growing concern.
Drivers that fail to stop can face stiff fines. For a first offence, the maximum fine is $2,000 and six demerit points. For every subsequent offence, the maximum fine if $4,000, or imprisonment, and six demerit points.
-with files from AM800's The Shift with Patty Handysides