It's School Bus Safety Week, and Portage la Prairie has several school buses making their way through our streets, requiring you as a driver to be cautious. Here's Portage la Prairie School Division superintendent Todd Cuddington.

"Probably the most important thing for our division is making sure kids get to school every day, and getting to school safely," explains Cuddington. "So, we always want to advise drivers out there to be cautious and alert. And when they see one of the division buses or any bus, just to be cautious and obey all safety rules."

He notes every now and then they still get reports of drivers neglecting to stop when a school bus extends its signs for drivers to do so, endangering our children.

"If a driver is flagged, they do report those back to our operations and transportation manager," says Cuddington. "And then letters do go out as just a kind of friendly warning letter first-off. It's just to kind of remind them that their vehicle was observed. And then, if necessary, if it's more serious, obviously the RCMP would get involved."

Cuddington adds they're watching how things proceed following a Transport Canada study on the issue of implementing seatbelts on buses for students. He notes they'll wait and see what the province advises how this will be handled.

He reminds you to keep your eyes open, stay alert, and help the Division ensure safety is a priority for everyone.