Thunder Bay school bus officials say no safety changes needed, a month after student nearly run over

A month after a near-miss almost resulted in a student being hit by a school bus he was riding in Thunder Bay, Ont., officials aren't making any changes.

The child's mother, however, believes more can be done to improve child safety.

On Dec. 13, mother of three Melanie Pelletier shared security camera footage on social media that appeared to show a school bus driver nearly hit her son Colt, a junior kindergarten student, as he was crossing the road after getting off the bus. The driver was suspended the next day.

Pelletier's two school-age children attend St. Jude School. Immediately after the incident, she said she would like to see an adult bus monitor ride with the children aboard the bus.

"I'm hoping that there would actually be another adult on board that's able to just attend to the children that are on the bus ... [so] the bus driver is able to focus on the road and when the children are actually getting off the bus."

CBC News reconnected with her on Monday to see what, if anything, has happened at her children's school since the incident.

After a series of school bus cancellations due to driver shortages following the winter break, Pelletier's children now ride a new school bus with a new driver, she said. There have been no issues since then, but she still believes a bus monitor would be beneficial.

She also said having buses with motion sensors and a front camera would help improve safety, "especially with such a big blind spot."

Investigation finished next day, says consortium 

When CBC News reached out to the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board (TBCDSB) and St. Jude School for comment, the board's communications officer directed the reporter to Student Transportation Services of Thunder Bay, which is the transportation consortium for the city's three school boards. 

Craig Murphy is the consortium's manager. When asked whether December's incident sparked any changes, Murphy said: "No, I think our system is very thorough.

"It's unfortunate, but when you have an employer or a company that has employees that are working on their own, unsupervised, you can provide all the training you possibly can, and do everything and check every box to make sure that everything has been covered.

"But if that driver decides for whatever reason to ignore it all and do something incredibly unsafe, I'm not sure there's anything that could be done to predict that," said Murphy.

He also confirmed the investigation into the driver's behaviour was completed the day after the incident.

"When we got notified the afternoon that it happened, I contacted the bus company to remove the driver pending an investigation by the bus company, and that investigation was completed by the first thing the next morning." 

The bus company agreed to remove the driver, and the driver was immediately banned from operating school buses within the consortium, Murphy said. 

The school bus company, Iron Range Bus Lines Inc., did not respond to a CBC News request for an interview.

The consortium has a performance management program and monitors bus operators for compliance with their contracts. This includes an annual audit in areas including operators' training programs and records, maintenance and driver abstracts, said Murphy.

Education about school bus safety starts in junior kindergarten with the first rider program. Elementary school students watch a video every year to review expectations for behaviour on the bus, at the bus stop, and getting on and off safely. They are reminded to make eye contact with the bus driver before crossing the road and wait for a specific hand signal for when to stop and proceed, he said.

The consortium also shares safety tips online and advertises driver positions, as staff shortages are being felt across the industry.

Safety Rangers program could be replicated

The experiences of the Pelletier family have resonated with a school bus driver from Cranbrook, B.C.

After reading the article about the near-miss involving Pelletier's son, Mike Briggs reached out to CBC News to share the safety program he created.

He said he's confident that if something goes wrong on the bus he drives, his students will have his back.

Briggs works for ʔaq̓amnik̓ (Aqamnik) Elementary School, a small, independent Indigenous school. The school previously had an adult bus monitor, but when that person retired and the school struggled to replace him, Briggs started Safety Rangers.

As part of the program, seven older students sit strategically around the bus: one at each of the four emergency windows, one at the front who knows how to open the main door and set the brakes, and two at the rear who know how to operate the back door.

In the first practice drill, "I had that bus evacuated in under three minutes. It was just incredible," Briggs said.

The Safety Rangers have monthly meetings. The school provides pizza, and at the end of last year, the team received matching hoodies.

"I am totally confident now that if anything happened to me or if we were in an accident or whatever, they all know enough to get those little ones off the bus and keep them safe," said Briggs.

Junior Rangers ensure younger students are following the rules. They get two warnings, and on the third strike, they're get a 10-minute indoor recess on the bus.

The program saves the school money, since they don't have to hire an adult bus monitor, and empowers students with responsibility, Briggs said. He believes it can be easily adapted to fit other schools.

CBC News reached out to the TBCDSB to get in touch with St. Jude's parent council, but was told the board could not facilitate this request. However, when Pelletier was told about the Safety Rangers program, she said it sounded cool and was interested in learning more.