Wheels of bureaucracy go round for school bus cameras

What looked to be a speedy solution to the problem of school bus "blow-bys" has been slowed to a crawl by red tape.

From May 2014 to the end of October 2015,Safer Roads Ottawaput a camera on one east-end school bus route,to catch drivers illegally passing the bus when it was stopped with lights flashing. The stopping rule applies to drivers coming up behind a schoolbus, and unless there's a median, to drivers approaching from the other direction as well. Thecurrent fine for a first offence is $490.

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Police laid 75 charges during the pilot, and found video evidence of another 150 violations which police weren't able to pursue within the constraints of the program resources,according to Safer Roads Ottawa coordinator Rob Wilkinson.

Backers of the program told CBC News in spring 2015 that they hoped to expand it across the city by fall, but two years later, no cameras are operating.

Bureaucracy puts brakes on roll-out

"I'm a little disappointed with all the bureaucracy that needs to be done for something that is going to make such an impact," said Sgt. Mark Gatienof the Ottawa police traffic unit. "But when you sit down and sort of calm down a little bit, you realize nothing is super easy."

Gatien, who has been involved with the project from the beginning, said he had to arrange for the creation ofa new government form, tobe filled out when charges arelaid with thenew video evidence. That form was approved in 2016, he said, after the project team bypassed the usual channels at the ministry by personally askinglocal MPP and Ontario Attorney General Yasir Naqvito sign off.

Privacy concerns an obstacle

But that was just the beginning,according to Rob Wilkinson of Safer Roads Ottawa. Settling onthe right camera system involved a long procurement process after the pilot, which then gave way to discussions about privacy issues.

Wilkinson said he's had to enlist experts to develop a report for Ontario's privacy commissioner, to explain how personal information such as license plate details would be protected as the video footage makes its way from the bus to the courts.

The extent of the privacy requirements came as a surprise to city councillor Stephen Blais, whose east-end ward hosted the pilot project, but there's no escaping it,he said.

"The last thing we want to do is tout a program and have it thrown out because of technical reasons, or face some kind of class action lawsuit for violations of privacy."

Calls for cameras across Ontario

Ottawa isnot the only community with concernsabout drivers around school buses.

In late September, a father in Perth, Ont., posted video of a driver speeding past his children's school bus. The video was shared widely on social media, and Ontario Provincial Policelater charged a 68-year-old woman.

A week earlier, a Windsor-area mother had called for cameras after witnessing a car barrel past her daughter's school bus on the road's gravel shoulder.

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Such concerns have prompted Rick Nicholls, the Conservative MPP for Chatham-Kent-Essex, toput forward a private member's bill to eliminate yet another obstacle to school bus camera programs, which is the need for a witness frequently the bus driver to support the video evidence if a ticketed driver contests the charge.

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Thatbill passed second reading in February,and Nichollssaid he had hoped it could become law before the legislature's summer recess. It's now in limbo until the government decides to call it up for consideration by a Queen's Park committee.

In late September, in response to questions from Nicholls, Minister of Transportation Steven Del Duca saidthe government would consult on the issue.

Possibly still miles to go for Ottawa program

Ottawa's program will proceed with or without that change to the law, according toGatien, adding that no drivers contested charges laid during the Ottawa pilot. But it could be a hardship for school bus drivers if they're asked to forgo work and income to appear in court.

Over at Safer Roads Ottawa, Wilkinsonis buoyed by the thought this city's pioneering slog through red tape will clear the way for other municipalities to get school bus cameras quickly in the future.

But as for when the cameras ultimately six of them in total will be deployed on Ottawa school buses, Wilkinson said, "I stopped answering that question really directly a few months ago.I would love them on my kids' buses, and protecting them," he said. "We're going to get there."

Meantime,Gatiensaid, drivers continue to flout the rules dangerously. One spot in Orleans near a roundabout on St. Joseph Boulevard is of particular concern to him.

"We can get somebody there every day," saidGatien. "They're just not getting the concept."