NEWS RELEASE
TIMMINS POLICE SERVICE
********************************
With the school year set to return to normal in Timmins, school buses will once again be conveying students to and from area schools.
The Timmins Police Service – Traffic Section typically receives a number of traffic complaints in regards to motorists failing to obey school bus flashing red lights and stop arm at various locations throughout the city.
The obligations of motorists who are meeting or approaching a stopped school bus with its flashing red lights in use and the stop arm deployed are obvious and compelling.
These complaints serve to identify dangerous driving behaviours committed by certain motorists as bus drivers are actively involved in taking on young passengers or allowing them to disembark from the school bus safely.
Timmins Police Traffic Section officers alongside Timmins Police patrol officers will be stepping up enforcement efforts throughout the city but particularly in school areas with a special focus on motorists who choose to disregard their legal obligations at the wheel. The Timmins Police Service would much rather educate than prosecute motorists for an obvious breach in safe driving behaviour that needlessly places children at risk.
For public safety reasons, those drivers found committing offences in relation to failing to stop for any school bus with its safety lighting in use and stop arm deployed can rightfully expect a firm response from the Timmins Police Service.
Additionally, most area schools are found within Community Safety Zones that enact the doubling of set fines for any speeding violations in such areas. Proper restraint is a legal requirement in terms of vehicular speed in any school zone.
The Timmins Police view public safety as a top priority. A strict response in relation to these offences is called for to address this issue.
********************************
