School bus camera footage may soon be enough to prosecute drivers who pass the stopped vehicles
School bus camera footage may soon be enough to prosecute drivers who pass the stopped vehicles in Ontario.
Transportation Minister Jeff Yurek says the regulatory changes will mean an additional witness is no longer required in order to use the camera footage in court.
Yurek says that currently if a school bus driver can't take a day off work to testify against a driver, the camera footage is inadmissible in court.
He says the move is designed to protect children as they are brought to and from school each day.
Yurek says there are an estimated 17,000 school bus "blow-bys" a day.
The government will also introduce a law which, if passed, would permit municipalities to add additional fines to drivers who break the law and pass a stopped school bus.
Currently, drivers who pass a stopped school bus can be charged, face a fine of up to $2,000 and receive six demerit points for a first offence.
Ontario also plans to introduce legislation that, if passed, would allow municipalities to target drivers who threaten the safety of children on school buses with new, additional monetary penalties.