With school officially being in session for over two months, school buses are continuing to take over the roads in the early morning and afternoon. 

That being said, Shelley Anderson, the supervisor of transportation for the Portage la Prairie School Division says that motorists need to follow the proper procedures when school busses are dropping off or picking up students.  

"You never know if a student is going to be crossing the road or not. So, for the safety of the students, the vehicles around the bus need to stop, no matter which direction they're traveling." Anderson continues, "If you're going the same direction as a school bus and the stop sign comes out, you need to stop regardless of what lane you're in. If they're over in the parking lane and you're in the far-left lane you still have to stop."

She notes that the student's safety is the number one priority.  

"Drivers could injure or kill a student. That's the number one thing, we don't ever want a student getting hurt." 

The supervisor notes that if you do pass a school bus when the stop sign is out it is not just a minor infraction.  

"If they are caught, the penalty for passing a school bus with the red light flashing and stop sign activated is a fine of over $670 as well as demerits on your license. So, there's definitely some long-term ramifications as well."

She concludes by saying that passing the bus isn’t worth risking a life.  

"It takes one minute out of your day to stop to let the bus safely load or unload the students and have them get to a safe location. So, please be aware of the buses if you see those lights flashing and the stop sign out, please stop."