Transport Canada may test safety of N.B. tire policy

Transport Canada is considering testing the safety of the tire configuration used on vehicles used to transport New Brunswick students to extracurricular activities, the province announced Friday.

Some of the mothers of the Bathurst High School basketball players killed in a crash two years ago have been lobbying for independent testing because they contend the province's current policy of using ribbed all-season tires on the front of the vehicles and winter tires on the back is unsafe.

'We want Transport Canada to tell us which kind of tires are really the safest. And we're waiting for the answer.' —Roland Haché, Education Minister

Education Minister Roland Haché says the policy is based on the recommendation of tire companies, but he'll abide by the results of any Transport Canada testing.

"We've relied on them, but again, we want Transport Canada, because this is their responsibility, we want Transport Canada to tell us which kind of tires are really the safest. And we're waiting for the answer," he said Friday.

Transport Canada officials could not be reached for comment, but Haché said they have asked the province to provide one of the so-called multi-function activity buses (MFABs) for physical testing.

"And we have agreed to do so," he said.

The testing would determine the safest configuration of tires for the MFABs for winter highway driving, Haché said.

Transportation Minister Denis Landry welcomed the development.

"The Department of Transportation has been sharing information with Transport Canada about the use of these vehicles and their tire composition, given the highways, speed limits and weather conditions in which they travel," he stated in a news release.

"I thank Transport Canada officials for their co-operation because the safety of students during extra-curricular travel is of the utmost importance to us all."

A U.S. company previously agreed to test tire configurations on the 21-passenger buses used by New Brunswick schools following complaints by three of the Bathurst mothers - Ana Acevedo, Isabelle Hains and Marcella Kelly, who believe the mixed configuration is unsafe.

But Continental Tires, which has its North American automotive systems headquartered in Michigan, does not have a vehicle in its test fleet that matches the specifications of the buses in question.

The mothers said they approached the Department of Education to see whether it could loan Continental such a bus, but were told no decision on the request would be made until January.

It's unclear where the request stands, or how it will be affected by any testing done by Transport Canada.

Javier Acevedo, Daniel Hains and Nicholas Kelly were among the seven members of the Bathurst High School boys basketball team killed in January 2008 when their 15-passenger van slid into the path of a transport truck. The wife of the team's coach was also killed.

Investigators found that the vehicle's brakes were faulty, the body was rusty and its tires were worn.

New Brunswick's Department of Education subsequently banned the use of the 15-passenger vans and replaced them with 21-passenger school buses.