Slave Lake is the highest with fly-bys

Chastin Martel

Lakeside Leader

Starting this school year, there will be more patrolling done at schools and ‘fly-by’ hotspots by RCMP detachments in Slave Lake, High Prairie and Falher.

The detachments were provided statistics that showed them the number of people not stopping for a school bus, says Sheldon Bossert, Director of Transportation for High Prairie School Division (HPSD). The detachments have been receptive and are taking the safety of youth very serious.

“I’m very confident in people taking this seriously,” he says.

Slave Lake is the worst area in the school division for these fly-bys, Bossert says. In the 2024-2025 school year, HPSD bus drivers reported 41 instances of other drivers not stopping for a loading or unloading schoolbus; of those, 28 were reported to the RCMP.

Other areas in the division experiencing fly-bys are High Prairie, Kinuso and Joussard, with 18 instances – seven of them reported to the police.

The reason not all of them are reported, Bossert explains, is due to such things as poor light or blurry license plates. They are still counted as fly-bys, says Bossert.

Buses are equipped with cameras, which is where the license plate identification comes in. Where the evidence is solid, the perpetrators are ticketed by the police.

What does happen if you drive right past a school bus with red flashing lights? Well for starters, you will be given six demerits and a $567 fine, says Bossert. Drivers have the option to dispute the ticket.
However, footage and photos are provided to RCMP. The cameras on each of the buses are very “precise,” he says.

“Not too many drivers go to court and have it thrown out,” says Bossert.

There are a few reasons why people are not stopping for a school bus, Bossert says.

“We live in a society where everyone is in a rush.”

Most drivers are transporting their kids to activities, doing coffee runs or simply not being aware, Bossert says. Another reason might be that people are still in summer vacation mode and aren’t paying attention.

Two of the buses in the Slave Lake area are equipped with seven-foot stop arms that swing out into the oncoming lane when the bus is stopped. Since they went into use, those two buses have seen fewer fly-bys.

Before these arms were installed, Bossert tells The Leader, he was dealing with fly-bys every two days.
“They’ve been extremely effective,” he says.

There is no firm decision to put the longer stop arms on any other buses. However, with the rise of fly-bys, Bossert is still discussing it with the division.

Asked if any billboards or advertising is being done, he says there are a few billboards around High Prairie. Otherwise ads are being placed online and in the South Peace News and Lakeside Leader.

“Drivers are being reminded,” says Bossert.

HPSD recently renewed its school bus driving course, for people interested in becoming bus drivers. It will allow class five drivers to become class two drivers, says Bossert. Information for the course will come out in the HPSD newspaper ads and will be posted online. If you would like to apply sooner, you can email transportation@hpsd.ca.

“That’s a big bonus for us,” Bossert says.