New Brunswick aims to launch bus camera pilot this school year, development ‘ongoing’

School bus cameras could soon be coming to buses in New Brunswick, according to staff from the province’s Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

In an email to Global News, department spokesperson Kelly Cormier said work is ongoing to develop a pilot project to determine the capabilities of school bus cameras.

“The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development is continuing to explore best practices with respect to school bus safety including the feasibility of putting a school bus camera program in place,” Cormier said.

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

Cormier said the pilot likely won’t be launched until the 2018-19 school year.

“It will be small scale, to begin with, to determine the effectiveness,” Cormier said. “We do not want to rush the project without considering all factors and consequences.”

The cost and impact on privacy are something Cormier said need to be taken into account.

The president of the New Brunswick Council for School District Unions, CUPE 1253, Brien Watson said the safety of children is everyone’s priority and said everyone needs to make sure children get back and forth from school safely every day.

He said drivers fail to stop behind buses on a daily basis.

“You can ask any bus driver any given day, anywhere in this province and they’ll tell you that somebody has gone through their red lights at least once or twice during that day,” Watson said.

Watson said school bus drivers are getting to the point where they’re giving up because no one is listening to them when they report these types of incidents.

“It’s getting more and more severe every day,” Watson said.

“People are just not paying attention to those red lights on the buses, and this is a law that they’re breaking that they don’t realize. They smile and wave at the driver as they sheepishly go by the bus.”

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Watson said drivers who don’t stop for buses are endangering children’s lives.

Fredericton parent Grant Roach said his daughter Willow, who’s in Grade 4, takes the bus to school every day.

He said he’s seen some “close calls” when she has had to cross Route 105 near Brookside to catch the bus.

“It’s rare, but it does happen,” Roach said. “We’re still worried about it.”

Roach said he is on-board with cameras being installed on buses.

READ MORE: Lord Selkirk School Division installing bus cameras to catch dangerous drivers

“That sounds like a good idea to me,” Roach said.

“I’m pro-camera for people running red lights or anything if it stops people from going through flashing lights of a bus or lights at an intersection.”

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His daughter Willow spoke with Global News as she was getting ready to catch the bus. She said she likes taking the bus and visiting with her friends before school, but said she’s seen drivers pass the bus when they shouldn’t.

According to the Department of Justice and Public Safety, drivers in New Brunswick face a minimum fine of $292.50 and three demerit points for failing to stop for a school bus, and a judge can impose a maximum fine of $6,244.50.

Cormier said between April 2015 and March 2016 there were 32 convictions, 40 in 2016-2017 and 29 between April 2017 and March 2018.

Watson said he would like to see fines “raised significantly,” adding that he felt “really comfortable” with the government’s timeline for launching the pilot and said the union is looking forward to discussing the issue with government.

In 2016, the Anglophone East School District purchased five school bus dash cameras to nab drivers who fail to stop for buses.

Global News reached out to the district Wednesday, and didn’t hear back as of Thursday morning.

READ MORE: Manitoba drivers caught on camera passing school buses

Cormier said that any inquiries related to Anglophone East’s program need to be directed at the district, but said that the province is working with partners, including the districts and law enforcement, to ensure a successful program.

Watson said in Saint John, a pilot project was attempted but he said that pilot was shut down because it wasn’t authorized by the province.

There are roughly 1,200 buses in the provincial fleet, including spare buses.