Photo: pixabay UPDATE 2:49 p.m Kevin Kaardal, superintendent of Central Okanagan Public Schools, tells Castanet, despite the fact that the bus stopped in the Raymer Elementary School zone, it was not a School District 23 school bus. “We certainly support safe driving zones around schools and he was not a school bus driver in the Central Okanagan.” Kaardal says the school board takes student safety very seriously and wants continued support from the RCMP and the general public to raise awareness about school zone safety, particularly speeding. In a subsequent message, RCMP said the speeding bus was transporting students to a private school. ORIGINAL 2:25 p.m Kelowna RCMP are keeping their eyes peeled for speeding drivers now that school is back in session. But they didn’t realize that they also had to watch for school buses that were also speeding through school zones. RCMP are out every morning handing out written warnings to drivers in school zones operating between 7:30 A.M. and 5 p.m. in the Central Okanagan. “It’s not unusual for drivers this time of year to forget that school zones are back in effect. What was unusual was officers pulling over a marked yellow school bus in a school zone for speeding with children on board,” said RCMP spokesman Const. Mike Della Paolera. They made the surprise stop after an officer using a speed detector recorded the bus traveling above the clear 30km/h speed limit in the school zone. The officer stopped the bus outside Raymer Elementary and gave the driver a written warning. Police also contacted the bus driver’s supervisor. “A bus driver who we trust with the safety of our children who blatantly ignores this responsibility is shocking and disappointing to all of us,” he said. Della-Paolera. “The Kelowna RCMP Traffic Service along with RCMP BC Highway Patrol officers from the Southeast Region will continue to be out there enforcing and educating drivers around our schools in order to keep our children safe.”
