Safety Services Nova Scotia launches annual School Bus Safety Awareness Campaign
“STOP! Nothing you’re doing is more important than this!”
Dartmouth, NS (Oct. 23, 2019) – Safety Services Nova Scotia has launched its annual School Bus Safety Awareness Campaign. This year’s campaign theme takes direct aim at the motoring public, particularly those who endanger the lives of our students by passing stopped school buses while red lights are flashing and the stop arm is extended.
The annual School Bus Safety Awareness Campaign has been a project of Safety Services Nova Scotia for decades. The campaign occurs during National School Bus Safety Week and is widely recognized by school bus drivers, students, parents, teachers, regional education centres, enforcement and administrators, as well as the motoring public, who share a strong interest in the safety of the 72,877 students who ride the school bus daily in Nova Scotia. National School Bus Safety Week takes place in the third week of October each year. This year, it is observed October 21 to 25, 2019.
This year’s campaign theme – “STOP! Nothing you’re doing is more important than this!” – speaks directly to drivers, demonstrating the tremendous risk imposed on students when a driver breaks the law by passing a stopped school bus.
“We are proud to host the School Bus Safety Awareness Campaign because our students deserve a safe commute to and from school every single day,’ says Jackie Norman, President and CEO of Safety Services NS. “As drivers, it is our responsibility to ensure we do our part by stopping to let our students enter and exit the school bus without risk.”
This year’s campaign also features the Let’s Remember Adam – STOP FOR THE SCHOOL BUS campaign. In February of 2000, five year old Adam Ranger was struck and killed by a vehicle while exiting the school bus in front of his home in Mattawa, Ontario. His brother Pierre chairs the Let’s Remember Adam campaign in hopes of preventing other families from enduring this tragedy.
“Our family has never been the same since Adam was killed and yet we know that drivers continue to fail to stop for the school bus every day across North America,” Ranger states. “This needs to stop! We commend Safety Services Nova Scotia for highlighting National School Bus Safety Week and bringing Adam’s message to Nova Scotia.”
The campaign is supported by Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC). The official launch took place on Oct. 23 at the Safety Services NS office.
Tanya Mailhot, Board Chair of Safety Services NS, was joined by Daniel Leopold, Director of Fleet Management, Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal; Amanda Dean, Vice President Atlantic, Insurance Bureau of Canada; Denise Crouse, Nova Scotia Pupil Transportation Committee; Jean Souliere, CEO, BusPatrol; and representatives from the RCMP and Halifax Regional Centre for Education. Grade 4 students from Seaside Elementary performed a school bus evacuation demonstration.
About Safety Services Nova Scotia
Safety Services Nova Scotia is the province’s leading not-for-profit safety service provider for Road Safety, Occupational Safety and Community Safety. Since 1958, Safety Services Nova Scotia has pioneered safety education and training programs that have improved the quality of life for Nova Scotians. For more information, visit www.safetyservicesns.ca.
About Insurance Bureau of Canada
Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is the national industry association representing Canada’s private home, auto and business insurers. Its member companies make up 90% of the property and casualty (P&C) insurance market in Canada. For more than 50 years, IBC has worked with governments across the country to help make affordable home, auto and business insurance available for all Canadians. IBC supports the vision of consumers and governments trusting, valuing and supporting the private P&C insurance industry. It champions key issues and helps educate consumers on how best to protect their homes, cars, businesses and properties. For more information, visit www.ibc.ca.
Source: Safety Services Nova Scotia via IBC
Tags: driving safety, Nova Scotia, school safety
