CALGARY – City council members will be discussing possible changes to school bus bylaws on Monday, just weeks after a child was hit while exiting one of the vehicles.
It happened in the community of Kincora on March 13th.
The youth was crossing the road to get to a relative’s vehicle when he was struck by a car, causing severe head injuries.
Officials say he wasn’t in a marked crosswalk.
The man who hit him had slowed to pass the bus, but couldn’t stop in time.
At the time of the incident, the bus had pulled over but didn’t have its flashing lights on, which meant the driver didn’t legally have to stop.
Currently, school bus bylaws prohibit bus drivers from using their flashing lights or swing-arm stop signs on all but a few select roads.
No charges were laid.
On Monday, two councillors are introducing a motion proposing that Calgary school bus drivers be able to use both their flashing lights and stop signs any time they pull over.
Joe Magliocca and Peter Demong are hoping the changes would prevent any further injury to children.
They’re asking for a report to be completed, which would be presented to city council later this year.
Demong is also pushing for changes to playground zones in the city, which currently begin at 8:30 a.m.
He wants them to begin an hour earlier, at 7:30 a.m., so that they coincide with school zones.
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