City councillors will be discussing possible changes to school bus rules in Calgary that could help protect children boarding and exiting the vehicles.
Members will be discussing a motion that will require bus drivers to activate their flashing lights and stop signs while stopped within city limits.
Currently, drivers aren’t allowed to do either of those things on any except for a handful of roads in the City of Calgary.
That realization was brought about after a crash in northwest Calgary earlier in March that could have had tragic results.
A seven-year-old boy was hit by a car and seriously injured while getting off his bus at the intersection of Kincora Glen Green and Kincora Glen Road N.W.
The boy is recovering in hospital and no charges have been laid in the crash, but the incident did spark a debate over whether or not bus drivers should use their signals on every road no matter the location.
Under current traffic laws, it is illegal to pass a school bus that has it's light flashing. The associated penalty is a $402 fine and six demerit points.
Councillors are calling for a near complete reversal of the bylaw preventing drivers from activating their signals, saying it should be mandatory for drivers to stop anywhere in the city while they are letting children on or off the vehicle.
"I was flabbergasted that they don't do it over here," says Ward 2 councillor Joe Magliocca. "It's crazy. Every other part of Canada, they do it, even in the U.S., they do it."
The amendment also makes a lot of sense to parents, who say that it would make things safer for kids and that they're shocked it took this long to realize.
No matter what happens in the discussions on Monday, it’s unlikely anything will happen right away.
Many expect it will be rolled into a complete review of the city’s school and playground zone laws, which will be voted on in the fall.
