15-seat vans have bloody history: Edmonston

The type of van involved in a weekend accident that killed seven high school athletes and a teacher in New Brunswick has been involved in plenty of other incidents, a well-known consumer advocate says.

Phil Edmonston, author of the Lemon-Aid guides on used cars, said 15-seat passenger vans ought to be avoided if users are not sure they meet modern stability benchmarks.

In the last several decades, the type of vehicle has been involved in more than 1,000 fatalities, Edmonston said.

"I've read the reports saying that this is a freak blameless accident, and I disagree," Edmonston told CBC News.

"This is not a freak accident. It happens all the time with 15-passenger vans."

Transport Canada is investigating Saturday's collision, in which a Ford Club Wagon — carrying the Bathurst High School boys' basketball team — fishtailed and collided with an oncoming transport truck.

"They don't conform to the safety standards for school buses or for automobiles in the sense of stability or protecting the occupant," Edmonston said.

Since 2003, however, automobile manufacturers have been introducing electronic stability controls to improve the safety of their vans, Edmonston said.

He said that anyone planning to travel in a 15-seat van should check to ensure it has these controls.

The weekend crash has had reverberations across the country, as school officials check their own transportation procedures and policies.

The Bathurst van had been using all-season tires, not winter tires.

The largest school board in Newfoundland and Labrador is now overseeing its own use of snow tires.

Mary Tucker, communications director of the Eastern School District board, said transportation policy was added to the agenda of a senior management meeting scheduled for Tuesday. The board, like others in Newfoundland and Labrador, does not have specific policy on which snow tires to use.

Meanwhile, Danny King, a physical education teacher at Brother Rice Junior High in St. John's, said the Bathurst incident has sent a chill through the teaching community, with some teachers more reluctant to sign on for some extra-curricular activities.

"There's a bit more apprehension in the air, you know. That's what it is," he said.

"I guess everyone is more erring on the side of caution now, and they're less likely to volunteer their time, especially for these out-of-town tournaments."