Bathurst van crash leads to new student transport policies in N.B.

Seven Bathurst High School basketball players and the wife of their coach were killed Jan. 12 when their 15-passenger van swerved into the path of an oncoming tractor-trailer.

Education Minister Kelly Lamrock said Tuesday that enforceable policies are being put in place this school year requiring such things as the use of school buses for groups of 10 or more students and the use of winter tires on vehicles.

Although the design of the 15-seat passenger van involved in the Bathurst crash was not an issue in reports on the accident, questions continue about the stability and safety of the vehicles.

"We believe when we talk about the transport of our children we should stick to vehicles where there is no disagreement that we are using the safest possible vehicle," Lamrock said.

New Brunswick joins several other jurisdictions in Canada and the United States that have banned the large vans for use by school groups.

Frank Wilson, author of a Transport Canada study on the Bathurst accident, said he's pleased the province is requiring winter tires on vehicles transporting students.

Wilson identified the worn, all-season tires on the Bathurst van as a critical factor in the accident.

"They give you better traction," he said about winter tires.

But Wilson said the New Brunswick government should have included a clear policy on weather-related travel for extracurricular activities.

"They're silent on that," he said, adding it's not right to leave the decision to a coach or school superintendent.

"A coach out on the road, is he going to decide to pull off in the Miramichi or in Sussex with a load of kids? Not on your life without some direction from higher-ups and so on. There should be a clear directive given and it should be provincewide, not district by district."

Isabelle Hains, who lost her son Dan in the Bathurst crash, said Tuesday she is looking for more information from Lamrock about weather-related travel.

Hains and Anna Acevedo, whose son Javier also died in the accident, demonstrated at Bathurst High School on Tuesday prior to Lamrock's statement.

"We want the children to be safe when they are travelling," Hains said.

Christopher Quinn, who lost his son Nick, said he welcomes any changes that make school travel safer.

"The bottom line is, it should be safer," he said.

Roads were icy and the weather was poor when coach Wayne Lord lost control of the 1997 Ford Econoline van just minutes from Bathurst and veered into the path of the tractor-trailer.

The eight victims died at the scene. Four people survived, including Lord who has never spoken publicly about the accident, his daughter, and two basketball players.

An RCMP report said the rusting, 11-year-old van would not have passed a safety inspection.

Lamrock said the school districts have been told to use the new recommendations until the changes are formally put into effect.

"All parents want to know that their children will be safe when they travel to events, particularly in light of the Bathurst tragedy," he said in a statement.

Lamrock didn't promise any new money for extracurricular school vehicles, which he said remains the responsibility of the schools themselves.

School principal Doug Prescott, president of the New Brunswick Inter-Athletic Association, said schools will continue raising money for vehicles and their maintenance through fund-raising and donations.

He said extracurricular activities will continue in the province.

"They are tremendously important in the creation of a well-rounded student," Prescott said.