Millarville-area residents say ongoing driver negligence is putting children’s lives at risk every day.
Don Chalmers, who lives just west of the Millarville town site, said people are continually passing school buses from either direction on Secondary Highway 549 W, even with the red lights are flashing when buses have stopped to pick up or drop off children.
“It’s an ongoing issue with people passing the school bus,” said Chalmers. “It’s dangerous.”
He said there are a number of different circumstances, but the most recent involved a semi truck that nearly rear-ended a school bus stopped at the end of a driveway to pick up a student. The driver then followed the bus to the next stop, where Chalmers’ daughter was waiting to board, and then proceeded to drive around the bus as it stopped with its red lights on.
Chalmers said his daughter has to cross the highway to get to the school bus.
“I jumped out in front of him and told him my feelings, and I then I did get a photograph of the back end of his vehicle,” he said. “And it’s a double-solid line as well, so this guy was not only passing a school bus with red lights, he was passing on a double solid.”
He said lack of signage and driver education are the main issues on Highway 549. It would be beneficial to get more signage throughout the province to educate people on rural bus routes, he said.
Though there are some large signs indicating it’s illegal to pass a bus with its red lights flashing, Chalmers said more needs to be done. He said it should be illegal to pass a school bus at any time on a two-lane road.
“School bus drivers typically drive the speed limit or drive to the conditions of the road, and they’re carrying Alberta’s most precious cargo,” said Chalmers. “Nobody has any business passing a school bus unless it’s a four-lane highway and the school bus is in the right hand lane and not picking children up, is my thoughts.”
He said there isn’t enough education out there to let drivers know how dangerous it is to pass school buses on their routes.
On Highway 549, he said the issue extends to drivers passing even passenger vehicles when it’s not safe to do so. He said he’s been passed while turning into his own driveway, even though a double-solid yellow line runs through that portion of the highway.
He said more enforcement could help, but it’s difficult to pinpoint when issues may occur.
“I mentioned to the Turner Valley RCMP detachment they could patrol up here a little more,” said Chalmers. “But they could be out here for two weeks solid at 8 a.m. and nothing goes wrong, and then they go somewhere else and something happens.”
His niece, Jennie Lannan, lives just up the road. It was her six-year-old daughter’s stop where the bus was nearly rear-ended. She agreed with her uncle, saying it’s more than just bus safety – it’s about people not knowing when it’s safe to pass.
“Cars, trucks, you name it – nobody passes safely on these highways anymore, and they’re putting twice as many people in danger when they pass buses on a double-solid line,” said Lannan.
She said she’s seen “so many incredible things” at the end of her driveway, on a weekly basis and often more than once in a seven-day period.
Recently her husband was turning a tractor and baler into their driveway and was nearly t-boned by an impatient driver who tried to pass on the left, she said.
The driver blamed her husband for making a turn on the highway.
“He turned and pointed to the double solid and said she shouldn’t have been passing, period,” said Lannan. “And baler aside, it wouldn’t have mattered if he was in a small car, she shouldn’t have been passing him right there.”
Lannan said she’s hoping for more signage indicating both no passing and school bus stops. She said it might be a good idea to have a speed reduction around the “s” curves at their properties on Highway 549.
One of the biggest issues with bus-stop signs is that they’re old and faded, and not located ideally, she said.
“It needs to be changed according to where the bus is stopping,” said Lannan. “Right now you’re on top of the bus before you have any indication there’s a bus-stop there at the end of my driveway.”
She said the bus driver is very attentive and experienced, and gives drivers plenty of warning by turning on amber lights and slowing down in advance of the stop. People aren’t paying attention though, she said.
Jason Parker, MD councillor for the area, said his residents are fed up with a lack of action and came to him to see what he could do.
“I did bring it up in council to make sure staff knew so they could be in touch with Alberta Transportation to see if there was anything they could do further with regards to signage,” said Parker.
He said he also called Alberta Transportation personally to request a review of signage on Highway 549.
There was a fatality in the area in 2009, when Grade 2 student Brandon Kruggel was struck and killed by a driver at his bus-stop. It was very difficult on the community, and Parker said there hasn’t been much improvement since.
“We just want to make sure people are aware of the importance of safety around buses, because it’s putting kids really at risk if people aren’t following those rules,” said Parker. “It’s scary.”
