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Cyclist fined after hitting child crossing street to catch school bus

A video of a young child being hit by a cyclist while crossing the street to get to a school bus has been shared widely on social media. Groups and officials are reminding people of the dangers of not respecting the province's Highway Safety Code.

All road users are required to respect school bus stop sign

Antoni Nerestant · CBC News ·

Cyclist hits child after not stopping for school bus

7 months ago
Duration 2:05
Montreal's mayor says the incident, and the video footage circulating, serve as a reminder that cyclists, like cars, need to follow the rules of the road.

A 31-year-old cyclist was fined after running into a young girl who was crossing the street to catch her school bus. The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) opened an investigation a day after video of the incident, which took place Thursday, began circulating widely online.

The woman turned herself in to police Friday afternoon and was ticketed $131 for failing to stop for a school bus, according to SPVM spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant.

Advocacy groups as well as the mayor of Montreal have commented on the incident saying it serves as a reminder that all road users need to obey the school bus stop sign.

The video shows the child leaving her home, walking up to the sidewalk and stopping as a school bus approaches on Jeanne-Mance Street in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough.

There's a bike lane between the car lane and the sidewalk where the little girl is standing. 

Once the school bus stops, the child begins to skip into the street to catch the bus. When she starts to cross the bike lane, a cyclist runs into her.

The child was not seriously injured. The video shows an adult assisting the child after the collision and bringing her back home.

This screengrab from a video shared on social media by Mayer Feig shows the moment the young girl crosses the street as the cyclist is approaching.
This screengrab from a video shared on social media by Mayer Feig shows the moment the young girl crosses the street as the cyclist is approaching. (X/Mayer Feig)

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante described the collision as "shocking" and said it underlines the need for all road users to obey the Highway Safety Code.

In a post of its own, the advocacy group Vélo Québec said "the Highway Safety Code is clear."

"A cyclist has to come to a stop in front of the flashing red lights or the school bus's stop sign: End of story," the post reads.

An illustration showing how cyclists and vehicles must stay five metres away a school bus.
This illustration on the Quebec government website shows how all road users, including cyclists, must stay at least five metres away from a school bus once it has activated its flashing lights and stop sign. That rule does not apply when there's a median strip separating a road user from the school bus. (The Quebec government)

When a school bus activates its flashing red lights and stop sign, all road users, whether they're trailing the bus or facing it, must stay at least five metres away from it. 

According to the Quebec government, road users can only meet or pass the school bus once the flashing red lights are turned off, the stop signal has been retracted and the person driving or cycling is certain it is safe to continue. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Antoni Nerestant

Journalist

Antoni Nerestant has been with CBC Montreal since 2015. He's worked as a video journalist, a sports reporter and a web writer, covering everything from Quebec provincial politics to the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

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