It’s the first day of school in Prince Edward Island, so watch out for the buses

Prince Edward Island drivers are urged to be extra careful on Wednesday and give themselves a little extra time as students return for the new school year.

RCMP constable. Jamie Parsons said drivers should expect more traffic this week than they are used to.

“As students, staff and vehicles leave for school in the morning, the roads become much busier, for sure. Parents leave for work a little earlier and drop their children off at school, so it’s busy all around. » Parson said.

« What comes with that is increased danger. »

Drivers must not pass a school bus with flashing amber lights and must stop in both directions when the vehicle’s red lights are on.

Failure to stop comes with significant penalties: up to $5,000 in fines and an automatic 3-month license suspension.

« You can only imagine what your insurance would look like after getting a ticket like that, » Parsons said.

In addition, speeding fines are doubled in school zones.

« See the smiles of the children »

Rob Harding, a school bus driver for 13 years, can’t wait to welcome children on his bus again.

« It’s like being a kid again. You know, that first day of school is always exciting, » Harding said.

« It’s seeing the smiles of children. When they’re happy to see you, it means a lot to me. You know you’re doing something good. »

But Harding is also concerned about those first few weeks until drivers get used to seeing buses on the roads again.

It’s always careful to give drivers plenty of time when approaching a stop, and it gives kids plenty of time to cross the road. With the students’ lives at stake, he’s not going to push his luck.

« If you have your ambers and nobody slows down, I’ll leave my ambers and let that person through. It’s a lot safer than opening the doors, » Harding said.

Harding suggests parents remind their kids about school bus safety, wait for those red lights before crossing, and check that all traffic has stopped.

« The other thing is to talk to the students to make sure they are on time on the bus, because if they rush to the bus, they don’t pay any attention to the traffic, » said- he declared.

While he loves driving a school bus, and has never had a problem, he says he is haunted at night by the image of a driver going through red lights one day.