School bus drivers hope Charlottetown police ride alongs can continue

School bus drivers in Charlottetown have had more than just students on the some of the routes during the month of March.

Charlottetown police have been riding along with students on their way home from school as part of a new approach to catching drivers who pass school buses while their stop lights are flashing.

That pilot program has now come to an end, but bus drivers say they want to see it return on a regular basis.

"Makes me feel really good, just gives me more assurance," said school bus driver Jason MacKinnon, with the Public Schools Branch. 

"I'm still doing my due diligence in my driving and stuff like that, you know watching the traffic … but to have that extra set of eyes to know that they see this as an issue and they're coming on board with this program, it's just really great it's something I'd like to see happen often."

MacKinnon said he's always on high alert — monitoring traffic and not letting students off if he thinks someone might pass.

"But even when we do all these precautionary things there are still people that are either in a rush or whatever their mind set is to go through the red lights, it's just completely overwhelming for us."

'They aren't alone'

MacKinnon says he was part of a committee that started a campaign to raise awareness about the issue and the support he's seeing from Charlottetown police is a step in the right direction.

Police said they went on five ride alongs this month and caught one driver passing a bus.

The police officer sits behind the driver armed with a camera to snap photos of illegally passing cars for evidence.

Then they will radio it to alert officers in a cruiser following behind the bus to pull over the drivers and issue tickets.

We're trying to help them, help the public and help the students keep safe.— 

"We want to be behind Public Schools Branch and be behind the drivers and help them understand that they aren't alone in this," said Const. Kristi MacKay, the school resource officer at Charlottetown Rural High School.

"We're trying to help them, help the public and help the students keep safe."

Creative way to monitor drivers

MacKay said the police wanted to find a creative way to address the problem and relieve some stress for bus drivers.

Once students are all dropped off and the bus is headed back, MacKay uses her higher vantage point on the bus to look for drivers on their cell phones.

MacKinnon says he'd welcome an officer on his bus any day, and hopes to see the program return on a more regular basis.

"It's something that should be sporadic throughout the year," MacKinnon said.  "Like we are on the roads 10 months a year."

Charlottetown police say the pilot program has come to an end but will look into bring it back during the next school year.

More P.E.I. news