As summer winds down, bus drivers are gearing up for another busy season – reminding motorists to be careful as they carry Cochrane’s most precious cargo to and from school.
Southland Transportation manages approximately 167 buses that pick up and drop off thousands of kids in elementary, junior and senior high school every day in Cochrane, Springbank and the surrounding areas.
With classes set to begin the first week of September, Pamela Deadmarsh, Southland’s communications and recruitment manager, said drivers are keenly aware of the dangers other motorists create when they’re not paying attention behind the wheel.
“We focus quite a bit on training with defensive driving skills: looking out for signals from other drivers, what their intentions are, recognizing when a driver is distracted … and giving them whatever space they need,” said Deadmarsh.
In an attempt to alert fellow automobiles on the road, bus drivers flash an amber light before slowing down to pick up or drop off a child. A stop sign then folds out of the side of the bus when they’re ready to open the doors.
Deadmarsh said it’s the most critical moment for drivers – and the most terrifying – when motorists don’t follow the rules at this point.
“That’s probably the scariest part for our drivers: when traffic doesn’t stop when they have their stop signs out,” she said. “Those flashing red lights and those stop signs should be treated as every other stop sign and red light out there on the road.”
Sandra McCrimmon, who has been a driver and training officer in Cochrane for eight years, said she’s seen motorists ignore the signage and inch around a stopped bus – narrowly missing kids.
“If the red lights are on, … that’s the indication that we could have students crossing the road,” she said. “We have had close calls … where we’ve had to honk the horns and alert our children (to get back to the curb).”
Cochrane RCMP Const. Kary Moore said officers will be actively patrolling school zones at this time of year to ensure kids are safe on their return to school.
Speed limits must be obeyed in school and playground zones, and motorists must legally stop when school buses have their alternately flashing red indicator lights on. Not doing so can result in consequences ranging from a $465 to $543 fine … or worse.
In 2015, Alberta Transportation’s Office of Traffic Safety reported 50 accidents involving school buses, including four that resulted in deaths. The number represents 0.2 per cent of all crashes for that year, with passenger cars reporting more than 37 per cent of collisions with 9,201 accidents (including 110 fatalities) during the same time period.
“Everybody has a role to play in keeping our children safe,” said Moore. “Always watch for children crossing roads. Be prepared to stop or slow down.”
Deadmarsh said Southland also receives a lot of complaints about buses driving slowly along the roadways around Cochrane. She wants people to know drivers are going as fast as the law will allow.
“A lot of people aren’t aware of this, but the maximum speed is 90 kilometres an hour. That’s Alberta legislation,” she said, adding buses don’t have the manoeuvrability or the acceleration that other vehicles might. “They travel at an appropriate speed for a large commercial vehicle.”
Despite the difficulties and stresses of the work, Deadmarsh said the role of bus driver comes with many perks. She even remembers a driver who was invited to a student’s graduation ceremony after taking her to and from school from kindergarten to Grade 12.
“It is a very rewarding job – you definitely touch the child’s life. The school bus driver is that constant face every morning and every night for these children. They carry our precious cargo,” she said.
“We want to make sure our kids get safely home.”
