Mattawa Town Council has voted to have stop-arm cameras installed on all 19 school buses in the town.

The move makes them the first municipality in Canada to implement the BusPatrol program.

“We are thrilled to be moving forward with the Town of Mattawa to implement our SafetyTech solutions in order to help keep children safe on their journey to and from school,” says Jean Souliere, CEO of
BusPatrol. “It is particularly fitting that Mattawa be the first Canadian community to implement the BusPatrol program since it is home to the Let’s Remember Adam -­ STOP FOR THE SCHOOL BUS campaign, and we are proud to be starting our Canadian journey in this community.”

Pierre Ranger with the Let’s Remember Adam Campaign presented to council last night.

“I am thrilled that Mattawa Council has voted to implement this crucial technology to help prevent another tragedy like Adam’s,” he says

Pierre’s brother Adam was killed when a truck failed to stop for his school bus in February 2000.

Pierre is looking to recruit more communities to get on board.

“Our focus is on that, getting municipalities to jump the gun and get these cameras on the buses now, and then show the MTO and the government that this is happening so they need to get the regulations done,” he says.

Ranger says stop arm cameras will change behaviour by punishing those that break the law by not stopping for the school bus.

“I think that’s going to be the turning point in this whole safety campaign. We still see violations all the time, school bus drivers are required to record way too much information when a violation happens,” he says.

The Let’s Remember Adam campaign’s main goal is that another child is never lost because of a stop arm violation.

 

(File photo by station staff)

Filed under: mattawa, school-buses