OLDS — With in-person schooling started up again in town this week, drivers are advised to stop for school buses picking up or dropping off students.
Cst. Morley Statchuk of the Olds RCMP detachment issued a release earlier this spring detailing the rules of the road regarding school buses.
He said police will try educating drivers first. But if that doesn’t work, enforcement could be the next step – and that could cost drivers nearly $600.
Under traffic rules, drivers must be ready to stop if they’re approaching a bus with its amber lights flashing. That’s the signal that those lights will soon turn red, indicating students are getting on or off a school bus.
If the bus lights are flashing and the stop arm is extended from the left side of the bus, drivers must come to a full stop about 20 metres (four to five car lengths) away from that school bus.
“This distance allows drivers of other vehicles behind you to see the flashing lights and students to safely cross the roadway,” a news release issued by Statchuk said.
Drivers must remain stopped until the flashing red lights on the bus are switched off and the stop sign on the driver’s side of the bus is no longer extended out.
Statchuk said drivers who don’t stop for a school bus when its red flashing lights are turned on could be hit with a $567 fine under section 72(1) of the use of Highway Rules of the Road regulation.
"It’s kind of like anything else. If there was one near miss with youth in a school bus, that’s more than enough,” Statchuk said during an interview earlier this spring.
“We’d kind of just like to make sure that everybody has an idea that this is important and kids are excited to get to the bus, kids are excited to get off the bus and we do have some pretty wide streets in town and we want to make sure they are safe at all times.”
In an effort to increase safety, starting December 1, 2020, a new rule was instituted calling for all school buses to activate their eight-way red flashing lights when picking up and dropping off students in Olds.
“This means it is illegal to pass a school bus in either direction when the red lights are flashing,” a news release distributed at that time said.
That change was coordinated by the Town of Olds, Chinook’s Edge School Division (CESD) and Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools.
