Dash cams nabbing drivers that fail to stop for school buses in N.B.

The Anglophone East School District is taking a new approach to nab drivers who fail to stop for school buses flashing their lights — dash cams.

Bus driver Todd Prosser says during just 10 minutes of his Riverview route on Wednesday, five vehicles failed to stop for the clearly marked stop signals on his bus.

“It just gives you a sick feeling in your stomach cause you got to check to make sure where the kids are so no one is going to get hit,” Prosser said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It just gives you a sick feeling in your stomach cause you got to check to make sure where the kids are so no one is going to get hit," Prosser said.

“That is my worst fear, that a kid will get hit and killed.”

READ MORE: Number of motorists illegally passing school buses up in Lethbridge

Stephanie Patterson from the Anglophone East School District says the district purchased five dash cams for their buses last spring, with plans to buy five more this year.

She says the cameras are rotated among the 122 buses in the fleet, and they try to focus on areas which they’ve determined to be problematic.

Last spring, an average of five cars a day were caught on camera failing to stop for buses.

As Prosser drives his route, he says drivers seem to act like his bus is a nuisance.

“The stop sign was clearly out and she [a driver] looked at me and went right through — that is just the way it is 90 per cent of the time,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The stop sign was clearly out and she [a driver] looked at me and went right through — that is just the way it is 90 per cent of the time," he said.

On buses that are not equipped with dash cams, the district has advised drivers to take down the make and model of vehicles that illegally pass them, as well as the plate number and the gender of the driver and report that information directly to the RCMP.

Sgt. Mark Janes with the Codiac RCMP says the fine for failing to stop for flashing lights on a bus is $292.50.

According to the New Brunswick Department of Public Safety, from April 2015 to April 2016, 32 drivers across the province were ticketed for failing to stop for school bus flashing lights.

In total, 26 tickets were handed out to drivers in 2015, according to the RCMP.

So far in 2016, RCMP have issued 16 fines.

READ MORE: Stop for school bus or you could be ticketed; school district kicks off safety week

Janes is hoping the dash cam footage leads to more convictions, and says drivers caught one video could be also arrested for dangerous driving.

“What this footage will give us is all the surrounding events that are happening at the time the offence occurs,” Janes said.

“So if there are children whose lives are put in danger or something like that, then we can look at pursuing this under the criminal code.”

If convicted, Janes says drivers can end up with a criminal record.