Smiths Falls, Ont. school bus using dashcam to catch drivers disobeying the law

Drivers who breeze by stopped school buses are being put on notice in Smiths Falls, Ont.  A local transportation company has installed a dashcam on one of its buses — to try to catch drivers who speed past them when the bus’s lights are flashing.  This comes after a father in Perth caught multiple drivers on his camera breaking the law while putting young lives at risk.

This comes after a father in Perth caught multiple drivers on his camera breaking the law while putting young lives at risk.

Mark Lambert set up a camera at the end of his driveway, which is on a busy stretch of Highway 43. His video of cars failing to stop for school buses that are picking up children has led police to charging at least one person.

The maximum fine for failing to stop for a school bus that has its lights flashing is $2,000. The driver nabbed through Lambert’s video was fined $490. He was also hit with six demerit points.

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Lambert says he’s scared that one day a driver will take the life of one of his kids.

“Thank God nothing happened to my children, but everyone is looking at the what ifs. That’s the biggest part. This will happen in a really nasty way if something isn’t done,” Lambert said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Thank God nothing happened to my children, but everyone is looking at the what ifs. That's the biggest part. This will happen in a really nasty way if something isn't done," Lambert said.

According to the school bus company, Healey Transportation, it’s a scenario that happens on a regular basis.

“There’s often not a week that goes by that we don’t have that happen,” says Frank Healey, the president of the company.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "There's often not a week that goes by that we don't have that happen," says Frank Healey, the president of the company.

The company has mounted a dashboard camera on one of their buses that drives along Highway 43 in Perth. Their hope is to help assist police in catching people who are disobeying the law.  But even if the camera catches a driver in the act, Lanark OPP say it can still be difficult to get a conviction.

“We have to have an evidential chain. A camera would be part of that chain, but we still need human beings to testify,” says Const. David Bird.

The province is working towards legislation to install cameras on buses and allow the evidence to be admitted in court without a witness. For Lambert, these changes can’t come soon enough.