Drivers To Lose Licenses For Illegally Passing School Buses Under Strict New Law

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND, CANADA — A tough new law set to go into effect in Prince Edward Island means drivers who put school kids at risk by illegally passing buses will lose their license for three months, receive 12 demerit points, and pay a fine of $5,000 Canadian dollars.

In order to get back a suspended license in the eastern Canadian province, offenders must attend a defensive driving course, meet with highway safety officials, and pay a fee. They are then placed on probation and will have their license suspended again if they receive any additional demerits over the course of the following year.

The law goes into effect on December 8, making P.E.I.’s punishment the harshest in Canada.

"We will be continuing to work with our police and education partners to implement strong solutions,” said Transportation Minister Paula Biggar.

As CrimeFeed previously reported, incidents involving children getting on and off stopped buses have led to tragic fatalities in the United States.

In October, 24-year-old Alyssa Shepherd, a children's director at a gospel church, failed to yield for a bus in Indiana and slammed her pickup truck into four young school kids. She killed 6-year-old twin brothers and their 9-year-old sister and seriously hurt an 11-year-old boy.

According to police, the bus had its lights flashing and stop sign extended.

Shepherd has pleaded not guilty to three counts of reckless homicide and one misdemeanor count of disregarding a stop sign and causing injury.

“We all need to pay a little more attention, because it's all our responsibility to make sure our children get to and from school safely,” Indiana State Police Sergeant Tony Slocum said after the deadly accident. "I just can't imagine the pain that family is going through.”

Read more: CBC