P.E.I. doubled the fine for illegally passing a school bus this fall, but the bus drivers say that's not enough. They want front licence plates to better identify offending vehicles.

'The problem lies in getting a conviction in court.'— RCMP Sgt. Gary McLeod

School bus driver Kevin Atkins said some of the people passing his bus are just bad drivers, but others don't seem to care.

"They're the ones that look directly at you and go right through your red lights. Those are the people I'd like to see clamped down on," said Atkins.

Officials at the Western School Board believe the doubling of the minimum fine for illegally passing a school bus, from $500 to $1,000, is a good start, but better tools for enforcement are needed. The board's drivers report most of the drivers who pass buses do so from the front, and spotting licence plate numbers in the rearview mirror is very difficult.

Getting a plate number is only part of the problem, say police. The plate only identifies the vehicle, and it is the driver that has to be charged.

"The problem lies in getting a conviction in court, to be able to properly identify the driver," said RCMP Sgt. Gary McLeod.

The Western School Board said conviction rates are low for charges of passing a bus illegally.

The province is working on legislation that will allow police to charge the owner, not the driver, of an offending vehicle. It's also planning to install video cameras on buses to record the licence plate numbers of passing vehicles.

The required legislation could be ready for the spring session.