The figures shared at the Nov. 13 North Perth council meeting regarding school bus blow-bys were jarring, to say the least.
As a reminder, John Chapman, owner of Newry Coach Lines, shared with council that North Perth currently has 33 school buses that are exclusive to serving the municipality. He estimated that each bus sees two blow-bys per day or roughly 388 blow-bys for each bus over the 194 days of school. This would give an annual estimate of 12,804 blow-bys in a school year.
I don’t think anyone could argue that these estimates are staggering, however I found them especially disturbing after returning from our family vacation to the Azores island of Sao Miguel, Portugal.
Besides the Jurassic Park-like landscapes, one of the first things my husband and I noticed about the island was the drivers’ willingness to stop for pedestrians and their general regard for the rules of the road.
We rented a car for the duration of our trip, something we are both not too familiar with, which prompted us to do our research to ensure we drove on the correct side of the road, for example. I admit, I didn’t know before looking to Google.
In my research and experiences driving on the island, I found that speed limits were significantly lower, for example 40km-60km on the majority of roads, excluding highways; left lanes are used strictly for passing or turning; nobody uses any devices, headphones or handhelds, while driving; and pedestrians at subsequent crossings have absolute priority over all vehicles on the road.
I even noticed that drivers rarely used the horn.
Perhaps the most surprising item was, and I place my hand over my heart when I swear that, truly everyone seemed to follow the rules with little enforcement visible.
We drove every day for a week straight to different parts of the island and we did not come across one car accident. I also don’t recall seeing more than a handful of police vehicles.
The same could not be said about visitors driving in Ontario.
The driving rules I shared above are not significantly different from those in the Canadian Highway Traffic Act. So, what is the difference?
I recall sitting on the balcony of our hotel, drinking an afternoon coffee while the kids enjoyed a nap, when I saw a horse-drawn carriage carrying tourists along the main road our hotel was located on. From a distance I saw an ambulance approaching with its sirens on. I was shocked when the ambulance stopped its sirens to pass the horses, I assume in an effort to not spook the animals, before carrying on its way to whatever emergency it was called to.
I remember being surprised, and I kept wondering what is the difference between the people here and Canada?
Could it be the laid-back island culture and way of life. Could it be that people of the Azores have more regard for human life. Whatever it is, Canadians could learn a thing or two from these drivers as I had a form of culture shock on our drive home from the airport via Highway 401.
Internationally, Canadians are known for their kind hearted, always apologetic, and peace-keeping ways. I believe it is time we own up to these stereotypes each and every time we sink into the driver’s seat, because the figures shared at North Perth council on Nov. 13 are not just numbers.
They are children traveling to and from school.
I think we would be hard pressed to find someone who would willingly admit that it is safe and acceptable to pass a stopped school bus. So why does it happen over 12,000 times a year in our community?
My advice, and the mantra I will be replaying in my mind the next time I am behind a school bus is “slow down and enjoy the scenery.”
Sure, Ontario is not known as the Hawaii of Europe – like the Azores are. But we have plenty of beautiful scenery to enjoy during our various commutes.
Maybe the sun is shining just perfectly on a golden crop of corn, or maybe the leaves of the trees are a beautiful multi-coloured delight.
Perhaps enjoy the smiles on the small children’s faces as they leap off the last step of the school bus into their parent’s arms, happy to be reunited with their parents after a long day of school.
Any of the above is a better sight than the scene of an accident.
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Kelsey Bent is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter with Midwestern Newspapers. Comments or feedback can be sent to kbent@midwesternnewspapers.com.
