P.E.I. going after school bus passers

They say teachers have eyes in the back of their heads and soon buses on P.E.I. will have an extrapair of peeperstoo.

Transportation Minister Ron MacKinley is planning to put video cameras on every school bus on the island in order to catch drivers who pass while the red lights are flashing.

Passing a school bus while the red lights are flashing which means it is stopped and picking up or dropping off children can mean a fine of between $500 and $5,000 andeight points deducted from your drivers licence.

But Grant Thomas, who has driven a school bus for 12 years, says the penaltiesaren't a deterrent.

"It probably happens every day at some point, but usually it will happen to [every] driver at some point through the year," Thomas told CBC News Wednesday.

Thomas sat down over breakfastwith MacKinley one morning, and the two of them worked out the idea to post two video cameras on school buses to catch offenders.

"I talked to the school bus people, who are drivers, and they tell me it's almost impossible if somebody's passing to be able to get the licence plate and swear who was driving the vehicle," said MacKinley.

"This way we'd have cameras going front and back outside the bus. We've got to change the legislation so the onus is on the person's vehicle," he said.

"Either produce the driver or pay the fine."

Thomas believes a few convictions would make a big difference.

Eastern School District superintendent Sandy MacDonald said under the current regime, convictionsare difficult.

"The times they can [catch the licence plate number] they have to write it down and bring it in here, and sometimes it goes to court and people will refute it and say, 'well that wasn't my car,' that we got the licence plate wrong," said MacDonald.

"Often we don't have a leg to stand on. Last year we had, I think, more than 30 complaints from drivers about people going through the lights when they were flashing. Most of these go unprosecuted."

MacDonald said it's reaching the point where busdrivers aren't bothering to report violations any more.

MacKinley intends to bring legislative changes this fall to allow for the use of the cameras, specifically to allow for charges to be laid against the owners of vehicles.