Camera, lights, busted: St. John's mom catching drivers passing school buses

A St. John's mother is vowing to keep catching careless drivers on camera in the hopes that people will learn — and follow — the rules when a school bus is stopped with its lights flashing.

• Bus stops, you stop: RNC warns of stiff tickets for drivers who pass stopped school buses

"Last week, I think it was the first time I videotaped, and I counted seven cars in the 20-second video that just passed and did not stop," said Joanie Perry Sears on Wednesday. 

Her teenage son gets on and off the school bus on Topsail Road near Burgeo Street, which is a busy, four-lane stretch. His safety is what motivated her to start recording people breaking the law.

"I want there to be more awareness because I know a lot of people probably don't know they're supposed to stop, even in four lanes," Perry Sears said.

"But ignorance isn't really an excuse so I figured the best next step would be to bring it to the forefront and the best way to do that these days is social media."

High praise for RNC's efforts

Perry Sears said she tagged the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary after uploading one of her videos to Twitter. 

"They contacted me right away and they said this definitely looks like a problem area and they said they would monitor it and they have been — they have been great," she said.

A second video shot by Perry Sears shows an unmarked police car driving off in pursuit of a car that had not stopped, despite a school bus that was stopped with its lights flashing and stop sign out. 

The RNC said not obeying the rules relating to stopped school buses comes with a penalty of six demerit points and a minimum $600 fine.

'They will get caught'

Perry Sears said her son may be 17, but people shouldn't make assumptions. 

"You just need to be aware that even though this is a big kid, it doesn't mean it is someone who is conscious of what's going on around them all the time so that's a big concern for me," she said.

"This is not only my kid but a lot of kids because we know a lot of kids are on the autism spectrum." 

Perry Sears is pleading with drivers to be aware, follow the law — and put themselves in her shoes. 

"I would like drivers to go through my neighbourhood, even though it's a busy road, as if they were going through their own neighbourhood with their children on the street," she said. 

"This is the law they have to stop or they will get caught because I will continue to post video as long as it's working because I don't want it to go away and you know, people forget about this."