With a new school year upon us, now seems like a good time to remind our school communities about a few important school bus safety rules. While we will list them here, you can also learn about them directly from our students in the video below!

When it comes to riding the school bus, our students said it best - make sure you remain seated and quiet so as to minimize distractions for our drivers.

When it comes to sharing the road with school buses, the Peace River School Division's Transportation Manager, Merlin Lee, recently reminded drivers to remain vigilant when approaching a school bus on the road. Lee spoke with the Trending 55 Newsroom on River Country FM to talk about school bus safety.

"We always ensure that our drivers are well prepared. We go through a bunch of training with them that includes reviewing their safety protocols, some route familiarization, emergency procedures and we focus on defensive driving techniques and how they can handle various road conditions as we move into the fall and winter months to ensure student safety," Lee said.

Late for Work is not an excuse

Everyone is responsible for ensuring student safety when they are on a bus.

"Society on a whole, we are all in a hurry to get where we want to be," Lee said. "When you see a bus on the road and it's got it's eight-ways going, the red and yellows, and it's stop sign out, driving by really slowly is not an option. You need to stop and wait for those busses to come by."

If the lights are on and the stop sign is out, don't pass the bus!

Consequences of failing to Stop

If a driver fails to stop when a school bus has its lights flashing and stop sign out, they could receive a $543 fine and six demerit points.

"All of our children depend on the actions of every driver. You have to stop for those buses when their lights are flashing and their stop signs are out - no exceptions. Please be extra vigilant, especially in the school zones and around the buses. Reduce your speed, stop when you need to, and be really careful in watching for children crossing the road, especially in those school zones. They tend to run out at the last second and we really want to make sure everybody is safe," Lee said.

Listen to Lee's full interview HERE.