School Bus Safety

Each pick up and drop off location has a designated Safe Zone where the driver has instructed students to wait. Once the Safe Zone is established students should always wait at this location.  

Students must NEVER cross in front of the school bus until the driver has signaled them to do so. Bus drivers will not signal students to cross until the traffic has come to a complete stop within the bus driver’s Safe Zone.

A bus driver is only permitted to let students off at their designated stop.

Bus Stop Location

Outside of Town Limits: Peace River School Division has established a 400 meter walk limit for students living outside of the 2.4km walk distance. Often the pick up point is located at the end of the driveway as yard service is not provided. If the distance between the driveway and the existing bus route is less than 400 meters, students may be required to walk along the road to a safe stop location along the main bus route.

Inside Town Limits: School bus stops located within the town limits are in accordance with the 400 meter walk limit policy and are reviewed annually by the Transportation Department. Considerations regarding stop placement include:

• A safe location for all students while waiting for the bus;
• A visible location with consideration to bus maneuverability;
• Location of student residence in relation to the stop.

Yard Service

The Board has, in the past, considered yard service to further protect the safety of students where the length of the driveway for a home is greater than 400 m and the grade of the eldest child is less than Grade 4. 

Peace River school division does not normally provide yard service. Exceptions thaty may apply:

• If the turn around space is limited on the public roadway making it unsafe for the school bus to turnaround;
• If the child requires special program needs.

To receive approval, parents must make a request for this service directly to the Transportation Department on the link below.  Please contact the Transportation Department for further questions or details.

Yard Service Permission Waiver

A school bus driver is responsible for operating a school bus in a safe effective manner according to all Provincial regulations, traffic laws, divisional policies and procedures including the Class 2S Mandatory Entry Level Training.  

The training provides stringent procedures that are used for safety on the school bus as well as loading and unloading. Drivers must ensure that students follow the correct procedures for loading and unloading or their safety may be compromised.  See here for further details on training with school bus drivers.

Training continues throughout the school year as part of PRSD school bus safety training matrix and School Bus Drivers are certified with standard first aid.

School bus drivers communicate with parents when student behavior requires assistance.  Inappropriate or abusive behavior must be reported to the School Administrator.

Peace River School Division runs a school bus fleet of over 100+ school buses.  All buses are equipped with GPS tracking systems and some buses have camera systems.

Each bus is inspected daily by the school bus driver and follow a bi-annual CVIP inspection schedule.

All buses have radio communications systems installed in the event of minor communication or other incidents.