If you’re willing to wait five to ten minutes in line for a cup of coffee, you can stop and wait for the school bus.
That from Pierre Ranger, chair of the Let’s Remember Adam campaign, with the new school year starting on Tuesday.
“I really need people to understand the importance of stopping for those school buses,” he says. “Take the extra time and be patient.”
Pierre’s brother Adam was killed in February 2000 when a truck failed to stop for his school bus in Mattawa.
He says it’s still happening, pointing to a Facebook post that he shared last week after the start of school in Quebec.
“A 13-year-old boy lost his life, the same as Adam,” he says. “Somebody did not stop for the school bus and ended up ending this young boy’s life, destroying that family the same as what happened to my family.”
Ranger says their message is spreading as they have signage going up in Eastern Ontario and they’re working south too.
He also says there’s plenty of red tape, but they continue to lobby for stop arm cameras on buses.
“I have big hopes that by the end of this year we will everything we need cleared up and municipalities will be able to start installing cameras if they wish,” Ranger says.
He says Mattawa is the only fully programmed bus line with cameras although some pilot programs are going up around Ontario.
