To use Timmins Police Service communications co-ordinator Marc Depatie’s words, here’s a “distressing number”: in the past week, officers have investigated six vehicle collisions involving school buses.
“A collision involving a school bus this morning at the intersection of Railway and Moneta has resulted in minor injury to the school bus operato.” Depatie reports.
Luckily, no children were hurt in any of the collisions. Drivers have also reported several other near-collisions between their buses and other vehicles.
Depatie says road conditions have been a factor most of the collisions.
“But if you drive in keeping with conditions,” he says,” these situations, we deem them to be avoidable and preventable.”
You could be fined for your driving habits around the big yellow buses. But as Depatie points out, the undeniable priority is the safety of the kids on those buses.