Last week, Cumberland Ward councillor Stephen Blais announced that the City of Ottawa would be putting surveillance camers on the outside of six school buses. The purpose of the cameras is to catch motorists who pass the buses when the stop-arms are extended.

As hard as it is to believe that people still drive past school buses which have their stop-arms extended and their lights flashing, it is all too common. In fact, it happens on a regular basis.

In one incident that occurred to an M.L. Bradley driver, some idiot drove up the inside of the bus along the shoulder of the road after the bus had stopped with its lights flashing. The driver just opened the door when the car sped by, nearly crashing into the open door. The poor bus driver was so shaken they had to take a week off work.

I spent close to a year driving a school bus for M’L Bradley in 2014-2015 and let me tell you that a driver’s worst nightmare is having a motorist ignore the stop-arm and hit a child as they cross the street.

School bus drivers are already trained to make sure they keep an eye on their kids as they leave the bus and continue on their way. They make doubly sure that the area around the bus is clear before they deactivate the stop-arm and continue on their route.

Part of the training also includes waiting a minute or two after tbhe stop-arm is activated before opening the door and allowing the kids to disembark the bus. It’s an extra precaution to make sure it’s all clear, but still you will have the odd moron run the stop-arm, usually going in the opposite direction.

The fine for passing a school bus with its stop-arm extended and its lights flashing is $490. Personally, I would add a public flogging, but I am told that it is uncivilized in today’s society.

There is a special place in Hell for someone who would place a child’s life at risk for the sake of saving 30 seconds to whatever it is they are going.

The only exception to the rule is on a roadway with a median and you are going in the opposite direction.

The stop-arm camera program should help deter a lot of drivers from driving past school buses with their stop-arms extended and their lights flashing in the future.

But not everyone will get the message, which is where you come in. If you see someone drive past a school bus in that situation try to get their license plate number and report it to the police. Not every bus will be equipped with the cameras. In fact, the majority won’t and there are still people out there who will be willing to take the chance with our children’s lives despite the threat of a $490 fine.

It’s up to all of us to make sure the transgressors don’t get away with it.