‘We’re not playing around,’ says Stoodley

By Mark Squibb

The province is launching a four-month pilot project that will see stop arm cameras installed on six school buses across the province, including one in Paradise.
Minister of Government Modernization and Service Delivery Sarah Stoodley said the cameras will detect and capture images and videos of vehicles illegally passing school buses when their stop arm is extended.
“These will be real tickets,” said Stoodley. “We’re not playing around. If you pass one of these cameras, there are pictures and a 10-second video clip that will be captured, and you, the registered owner of the vehicle, will get a real ticket in the mail. Any vehicle that chooses to pass a school bus with the stop arm extended will get a ticket in the mail. Fines for passing a school bus that is stopped with its arm out are in the Highway Traffic Act and depend on how fast the vehicle is going and if there are any previous offences and could range between $500 and $1,200.”
Ideally, said Stoodley, no tickets will need to be issued. The minister cautioned drivers to be more mindful, especially as school starts up again.
“I’m sure no one gets up in the morning and says, ‘I’m going to cross a school bus arm this morning,’” said Stoodley. “When you’re driving, you have to be solely focused on that purpose.”
Five of the six buses participating in the pilot project belong to the provincial fleet. The Paradise bus, however, which serves Elizabeth Park Elementary, is operated by CBS-based Bursey Bus Services.
Co-owner Evan Bursey said that as a business owner and father he is proud to participate in the pilot project.
“There have been far too many near misses and accidents,” said Bursey. “As a father myself, who has driven hundreds of school buses and thousands of children, when I see those two little feet crossing the road, I picture those as my own children. That’s why we’re so happy to be part of this initiative.”
Bursey said that bus drivers who see cars blow past the stop arm often scramble to write down a license plate number to pass on to police. The new cameras will remove that burden from the drivers’ shoulders.
Besides Paradise, buses in Corner Brook, Gander, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador West, and Marystown will be equipped with a stop arm camera.
Jenoptik Smart Mobility Solutions will be responsible for the installation, operation and maintenance of the stop arm cameras as part of its current contract with the provincial government.
Jenoptik is also the vendor responsible for the installation, operation and maintenance of speed cameras and the subsequent issuing of tickets.
The stop arm cameras, all told, will cost about $60,000. There will also be an additional cost for each ticket issued – a small price to pay, said Stoodley, for the safety of students in Newfoundland and Labrador.