Response from John McLaughlin to our Letter about the Survey, the Standards Document and Winter Tires on the Multi Function Vehicles

On Friday, I received this two page letter in the mail from John McLaughlin, District 15 Superintendent. (Complete transcript of the letter appears below the images of the two pages).

The letter is in response to our October 20, 2009 letter (click here to read letter) in which we asked a serious of very tough questions about the Survey conducted by the Department that led to a new "Standards" document which was distributed in a letter sent out to all parents in early October. The Standards document is ostensibly, supposed to alleviate parents' fears about winter travel and the use of the Multifunctional Activity Vehicles by BHS.

As it so happens, the day we wrote the letter, we had just found out that the new Bathurst High School Multifunctional Activity Vehicles did not have winter tires on the front! (Click here to read October 22 story in the Telegraph Journal and our own posting on the subject that we titled Unbelieveable!! )

The letter is telling because in it Mr. McLaughlin reveals that the Department of Education believes that they have the correct tires on the 21 passenger Bathurst High School multifunctional activity vehicle. They believe that they can put combination of tires (ribbed tires on the front and traction tires on the rear). This 21 passenger is not a full size bus. The tire size is LT 225/75/16 which have the availabilty for winter tires on all axels. As of now the front tires are LTX 225/75/R16 M/S with NO snowflake or mountain pictograph. LT stands for Light Truck, X for Michelin tire, M/S for all season. The rear 4 tires has LT 225/75/R16 Nokia Hakkapelitta with snowflake and mountain pictograph which indicates a winter tire designed to retain traction at low temperatures. For "buses" in Policy 513 are for tire size 11/22.5 that are used on yellow school buses and full size MFAV with the same tire size. They are WRONG and in complete contradiction to everything we have been told by the leading Canadian experts on winter tire safety in Canada.

The FACT is that these 21 passenger Multifunction Activity Vehicles are not buses like Yellow School Buses or the larger full size 32 seater MFAV which do use ribbed tires in the front and traction tires on the rear that are designed for winter driving conditions and are not a winter tire. The 21 passenger MFVAs require winter tires all round (four in back and two in front).

Vehicles Are Unsafe With All Seasons in Front, Winter Tires in Back

All the experts we have spoken to across Canada tell us that these are the wrong tires for 21 passenger Multifunction Activity Vehicles and that they have actually been made "UNSAFE" by putting all seasons in the front and winter tires in the back. Who is the Department looking to for its advice on winter tires on these Multifunction vehicles?

This is what Mr. McLaughlin said about the winter tires:

"With regard to the tires which have been installed on the 21-passenger Bathurst High School multifunctional activity vehiciles, I assure you the standard articulated in Policy 513 has been met, and this has been done under the direction of the Department of Transportation. Specifically, the policy states that: "For buses, winter tire means a combination of tires that are specifcially designed for winter driving conditions (i.e. ribbed front tires and traction tires on the rear)." In accordance with Policy 513, this has been completed by November 1. All decisions about vehicle maintenance are made by the Department of Transportation as the vehicles themselves are owned by the Province of New Brunswick."







Education School District 15
New Brunswick

October 28, 2009

Mrs. Isabelle Hains
204 Lakeside Aveneue
Bathurst, NB

Dear Mrs. Hains,

I am in receipt of your email of October 20, 2009 and wish to respond to your questions and concerns as follows:

School District 15 is in compliance with Department of Education Policies 512 and 513. The transportation checklists, standards for cancellation of extracurricular travel, and our ongoing audits of school trips are designed to ensure the highest standards (as articulated in the new provincial policies) are being met.

With respect to the winter cancellation standards themselves, I wish to point out that these are mandatory practices in all of our schools, and they clearly articulate the various weather conditions whereby extracurricular travel must be cancelled and when teams and other groups already in transit must remain overnight.

With regards to the tires which have been installed on the 21-passenger Bathurst High School multifunctional activity vehicle, I assure you the standard articulated in Policy 513 has been met, and this has been done under the direction of the Department of Transportation. Specifically, the policy states that “For buses, winter tires means a combination of tires that are specifically designed for winter driving conditions (i.e ribbed front tires and traction tires on the rear).” In accordance with Policy 513, this has been completed by November 1. All decisions about vehicle maintenance are being made by the Department of Transportation as the vehicles themselves are owned by the Province of New Brunswick.

With regards to our recent consultation process, I offer the following details:

As superintendent I took the lead on this project as I wanted to ensure our cancellation standards are well informed

I arranged consultation sessions with various groups including

The parents of the students whose lives were lot in the tragedy of January 12, 2008

School principals
Coaches

Activity organizer
Pupil transportation official
The general parent population through an informal mass survey
informal mass survey (see attached), approximately 3600 forms were sent home with our students, and 1162 were returned to us. The intent of the survey was to gauge the general comfort levels that parents have with various winter travel conditions. The school district makes no claims of statistical accuracy, as it was not designed to establish parental opinion within any particular margin of error. In interpreting the results, the most appropriate approach was to look for general trends, and these centered around concerns about winter travel in severe weather conditions, winter travel in general, student safety as the highest priority in decision making, parental rights to decide whether children will travel, access to accurate meteorological information and road reports, overnight contingencies, quality vehicle maintenance, driver qualifications and training, and the importance of maintaining a strong extracurricular program.

The information gleaned from the entire consultation process informed decisions about the new winter standards.

The new standards for cancellation of extracurricular activities which were sent to you are unique to School District 15. I have shared them with the Department of Education, but I have no knowledge of the standards that are in place in other school districts.

Your other questions and concerns relating to the recommendations from the coroner’s inquest are outside of my jurisdiction and are best addressed by representatives of the Department of Education and the Department of Public Safety.

Your truly,


John McLaughlin
Superintendent

Copies:

Hon. Shawn Graham, Premier
Hon. Roland Hache, Minister of Education
Hon. Brian Kenny, Minister of State for Seniors
Hon. John Foran, Minister of Public Safety
Yvon Godin, MP, Acadie-Bathurst

National Post: School crash inquest foreman upset safety recommendations ignored

Richard Foot, Canwest News Service Published: Monday, October 26, 2009

To read full story, click here

The jury foreman at the coroner's inquest into the infamous highway accident that killed seven students in New Brunswick last year says he's angry and dismayed that so few of the changes recommended by him and his fellow jurors have been acted upon by governments and school boards.

"It feels like there's a lack of care," says Jeffrey Causey, making his first public comments since the inquest finished its work in May.

Mr. Causey listened to weeks of wrenching testimony from witnesses who explained how seven high school basketball players and a teacher died when their van collided with an oncoming transport truck while driving home from an out-of-town game in January, 2008. Others testified how poorly the van had been maintained by school officials, and how warnings of an incoming winter storm were ignored.

At the end of it all, Mr. Causey and five other jurors released a list of 24 recommendations, designed to fix the safety flaws in the way Bathurst High School, and many other Canadian schools, transport children to extra-curricular events.

Five months later, those recommendations have mostly fallen on deaf ears, and the lessons of the accident have produced only minor changes in a handful of school districts across Canada.

"It makes me angry, and disappointed with our system, that so few changes have been implemented," says Mr. Causey.

To read full story, click here

Telegraph Journal: Bathurst school accused of not following standards

Published Thursday October 22nd, 2009

Click here for full story

Safety: Proper tires not installed on school vehicle, say mothers who lost sons in crash

A5 MARTY KLINKENBERG
Telegraph-Journal

BATHURST - With snow forecast in northern New Brunswick today, two mothers are upset because they say a small bus used to transport students to extracurricular activities at Bathurst High School is not fully equipped with winter tires.

Marcella Kelly and Isabelle Hains, both of whom lost sons in a horrific crash on Jan. 12, 2008, allege that a multi-purpose vehicle operated by the school is fitted with winter tires on the back - and two all-season radials on the front.

Kelly says she inspected the tires this week as the vehicle was being worked on in a garage in Bathurst. Surprised by what she found, she says she asked an employee about the combination of tires and was told, "That is the way they want it."

"I was shocked," Kelly said Wednesday as she sat beside Hains in her living room, a photo on the wall behind them of the seven members of the Bathurst High basketball team who died. "Why not be as safe as possible and also put winter tires on the front?

"It would appear they haven't learned their lesson."

Click here for full story

Unbelievable: School violates its own policies by putting all season tires on front of new BHS vehicles: Children's safety not a priority

Today I received a call from someone who informed me that the smaller one of two new Bathurst High School Multifunction vehicles was sitting in the parking lot of the Goodyear Tire on Tetagouche Hill.

I was surprised because I thought that any maintenance on the new vehicles was supposed to be done at the Department of Transportation shop, so I decided to go up to the Goodyear Tire to see if it was true and to see for myself what kind of tires were on the vehicle.

Policy 513 of Department of Education states winter tires between November 1 - April 30

According to to the Department of Education's Policy 513, buses transporting children are supposed to have winter tires.

Policy 513, S. 6.8 b) states

"Buses must meet the following requirements

b) are equipped with winter tires between November 1 and April 30."

Click here to view the entire Policy 513

Bus in Goodyear Tire parking lot

Sure enough, the small, MFV was parked in the Goodyear parking lot. I got out of the car and looked at the tires and couldn't believe what I was seeing. The two front wheel tires were all season tires, the same tires that had been on the vehicle since I don't know when, and the back tires were winter tires. This seems to be in violation of Policy 513, Section 6.8 b), which states that only winter tires should be on the buses between November 1 and April 30.

Wouldn't you know it, just at that moment, who arrived but one of the BHS teachers, Mr. Robichaud, who had testified at the Coroners Inquest, and soon to follow him was Mr. MacDonald, who (correct me if I am wrong) but I believe he was the activity organizer for extra-curricular sports at the time our sons were killed. If I recall correctly, Mr. MacDonald was the one who organized the vans' usage and therefore, he would have been the one who assigned Mr. Lord the white van to drive that day.

Around the same time, an employee of the Goodyear Tire came up to us as we were all standing there. I don't think he realized who I was. I asked him "That's not a winter tire is it? It's an all season tire on the front" and he said something to the effect of "Yes, that's what they wanted". Then I asked, "Isn't it better to have all winter tires on the vehicle?" and he said "Yes."

I tried to get Mr. Robichaud's attention but he ignored me. He climbed into the vehicle to drive it away. Meantime, I asked Mr. MacDonald why they have all season tires on the front and winter tires on the back. He said it was in the Policy. He refused to talk anymore and just left.

After that we decided to go do our own research about winter tires vs all season tires so we visited a local mechanic who runs a garage and inspection station and another fellow who runs a tire dealership, both in Bathurst. Both these people are experienced professionals who know what they are talking about when it comes to vehicle maintenance and winter tires. Both were unequivical in their belief that in New Brunswick in the winter, you use winter tires, not all seasons on the front and winters in the back. "I go for safety, and winter tires are the safest way to travel in the winter because they have a better grip in winter driving. They give an extra measure of protection."

As one of the experts told us, "I'd rather have a cheap winter tire than an expensive all season any day."

So, knowing that winter tires are better, that they are preferred by the experts and that given the choice between all season tires and winter tires the experts would use winter tires, and knowing what we have been through these last two years, why did Mr. MacDonald and Bathurst High School not choose winter tires for the new Multi-Function Vehicles.

They haven't learned a thing

It's obvious to me that they haven't learned a thing. They continue to go on the cheap, cutting corners when it comes to purchasing one of the most important parts of a vehicle - the tires. The difference between winter tires and all seasons is about $200-$300. They have enough money to buy the best tires for our children's safety but apparently they can't be bothered because children's safety is NOT their priority, no matter how much they say it is in their press releases.

Letter to John McLaughlin, District 15 Superintendent, about the Survey, new Standards document, and winter tires on BHS's Multi Function Vehicles

Isabelle Hains, Marcella Kelly
Bathurst, NB
October 19, 2009


John McLaughlin
Superintendent District 15
Department of Education
Dalhousie, NB

John:

We received your letter dated September 29, 2009, regarding standards for travel in winter weather conditions and we have read the attached “Standards for Cancellation of Extracurricular Travel Effective September 2009”, which we understand was distributed to every parent with a child in School District 15.

In our opinion, this new Standards document fails to meet the high standard for student travel that was set by the Coroners Jury Recommendations which came out of the May 2009 Inquest into our son’s deaths. No matter how much the Department of Education would like the public to believe that it has changed the way school children are transported to extracurricular activities, we see no significant changes to the decision making process since January 12, 2008, nor in the cancellation standards or monitoring requirements. Without the implementation of the five key recommendations, noted below, we fear that there will be a repeat of the circumstances which led to our sons deaths on January 12, 2008.

We have reviewed the Standards document and compared it to the previous Guidelines 512 and 513 which were in effect at the time our sons were killed. We are haunted by the thought that these so-called new Standards are actually the same Guidelines 512 and 513 that the Department of Education was developing for more than six years prior to the 2008 tragedy.

The School Principal is still responsible for decision making when it comes to cancelling extracurricular activities.

The school principal still relies on advice and support from the superintendent and staff.

The Superintendent always had the right to overturn the principal’s decisions.

When it comes to Cancellation Standards, there has also been very little change. The school principal always had access to the latest news and weather reports through the Transport Manager who had access to AMEC.

Also, according to Section 4.19 of Guideline 513, which was in effect on January 12, 2008, students were not supposed to travel when winter weather conditions presented a hazard. Nothing has changed in that regard.

Guideline 513, S. 4.19
Groups travelling out of town should be prepared to stay overnight if weather or road conditions present a hazard.

It torments us to know that so little has changed, a word here, a phrase there, despite what you describe in your letter as a “comprehensive consultation process regarding standards for travel in winter weather conditions.”

We would like to know the details of the said consultation process: who was consulted; was it only District 15 or the entire province; when did the consultation take place; what was in the survey; how many people were surveyed; how many people responded to the survey; what was the percentage of people who were sent the survey who actually completed it; what percentage of people who were sent the survey spoiled the results by failing to complete it properly; what was the timeline during which the survey was mailed out and the cut off date for completion; what were the results of the survey; were there any focus groups consulted; who (name of company or staff members of the Department) crafted the survey; who compiled the results; has anyone else outside the Department reviewed the results; were there any in depth surveys taken of select groups; was there an independent review of the survey results; in comparison to other surveys would you say the number of participants was high or low; do these standards apply only to District 15?

We are also disturbed by the fact that nearly six months after the Coroners Jury released its recommendations the following main recommendations have not been implemented:


The New Brunswick Department of Education take full responsibility for the safety of children travelling to off-site extra-curricular events when they are representing their school.

Nothing less than a qualified Class 2 yellow school bus driver with endorsements B (valid for school buses) and E (valid for air brakes) for all students travel to off-site, extracurricular events. Teachers, coaches, parents as well as volunteers should not be driving children to off-site extracurricular activities.

A Weather Law preventing students from being transported to off-site extracurricular events in bad weather. If there is a storm alert, the game is cancelled. If the weather changes at destination, students stays overnight. The weather protocol should be used for co and extra-curricular activities.

Fifteen and seven passenger vans banned for student travel across Canada. Only yellow school buses and Multi Function Activity Vehicles (MFAVs) should be used.

It should not be up to the Student Representative Council (SRC) to pay for the Multi Function Activity Vehicles or the maintenance of these vehicles. They should be paid by the province. Student Representative Council should not have to pay the bus drivers to drive the Multi Functional Activity Vehicles if our recommendation for mandatory bus drivers for these vehicles is passed.

In that regard, you are aware that at the private family’s meeting in Bathurst on July 29, the new Minister of Education, Roland Hache, announced the government’s response to the Coroners Inquest Recommendations. At the meeting, a document was circulated “Responses to Coroner’s Inquest Recommendations” which contained the point by point response of the Government to the Jury recommendations.

In our view, the most important recommendation was #5, that, “The New Brunswick Department of Education take full responsibility for the safety of children travelling to off-site extra-curricular events when they are representing their school.” It is the most important because all other recommendations, from Class 2 Bus Drivers to the banning of 15 and seven passenger vans and the responsibilities of the SRC flow from that basic, underlying principle.

Instead of a strong commitment to implementing this key recommendation, the government’s response was, in our view, insincere, weak and self-serving. This is what the Government document said: “The Department of Education takes responsibility for the safety of students at all times, and will continue to make safety the priority.”

Apparently, we are not the only ones who thought the Department of Education’s response to student safety was inadequate. You are aware that the next day, July 30, an Editorial appeared in the Telegraph Journal, which called into question the Department’s commitment to the key recommendation to “take full responsibility for the safety of children”.

In an attempt to defend the Department of Education, on July 31, Mr. Hache wrote in a Letter to the Editor that the Department has adopted the Coroners Jury recommendations to make the safety of children a priority. He wrote: “The Government of New Brunswick has and will continue to take full responsibility for the safety of students at all times…” essentially repeating the same disingenuous statement that appeared in the document circulated at the private family’s meeting two days earlier.

In our view, your Minister and the Department seem to have forgotten the central principle of open justice that “Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done.”

You can say that you are taking responsibility for the safety of children all you want, but if you are not implementing all the recommendations of the Coroners Jury then you are not taking the responsibility that the Jury invested in your Department.

Here we are, in late October 2009, and still we do not see Class 2 Bus drivers behind the wheel of the new Multi-Function vehicles, nor do we see a Bad Weather Law and the banning of seven passenger vans. Student councils are still paying for the purchase and maintenance of the Multi Functional Activity Vehicles, including tires. And although the issue of tires is not specifically related to the “Standards” document we are discussing, we have just found out today that the new, smaller Multi-Function Vehicle currently being used by the High School does not have winter tires in the front. If, at this point, the Department has not learned its lesson when it comes to winter tires on vehicles transporting students, how can one blame us for a complete loss of faith in your Department?

We challenge you and your Department to tell us how these new “Standards” are any different from the Guidelines that were in place on the night our sons were killed, You know full well that the Department has refused to implement these five important Jury recommendations and to say anything else is an insult to the memory of our beloved sons.

We expect a response to our questions about the survey outlined above and we would like to know what are your plans for implementing the five outstanding recommendations from the Coroners Jury.

It has been nearly two years since our children were taken away from us in a tragedy that could have been averted if the Department of Education had taken its responsibilities seriously. We serve notice to you and the Department that we will never give up and we will never go away until all the recommendations of the Coroners Jury are fully implemented.


Isabelle Hains, Marcella Kelly

cc. Minister of Education, Roland Hachey
cc. Premier Shawn Graham
cc. Hon. Brian Kenny, Minister Responsible for Non-Profit Secretariat, MLA Bathurst
cc. Yvon Godin, MP, Acadie Bathurst
cc. Hon. John Foran, Minister of Public Safety
cc. Delalene Harris-Foran, President CUPE Local 1253
cc. Media

Registrar of Motor Vehicles Enforces Recommendation 24 from Coroners Jury

On Sunday, October 18, I received a call from someone who told me that they had recieved a letter in the mail from Charles O'Donnel, the Registrar of Motor Vehicles. The letter stated that from now on, anyone who drives a vehicle that carries more than ten passengers, including the driver, is required to go to a commercial motor vehicle inspection (MVI) station for a MVI every six months by a licensed, heavy duty mechanic.

Coincidentally, the next day, there was a letter to the editor of the Telegraph Journal from a man who was complaining that these "new regulations" discriminated against large families who use passenger vans for transportation.

Citing his own example, he and his wife have six children and from now on they're going to have to follow the rules for driving a "bus" such as a pre-trip inspection, keeping a log book for trips of more than 160 k, higher tire standards and the twice yearly inspections by a heavy duty mechanic at a commercial vehicle inspection station.

We want people to know that this is not a "new" regulation. These passenger vans which carry 10 and more people are and always were "buses" but were improperly registered as "passenger vehicles" or cargoe vans and thus, were not rigorously inspected as they should have been. During the Coroners Inquest in May this error in registration of the white passenger van in which our sons died became a central focus of the inquest. At the end of the Inquest, Coroner Greg Foresstal recommended that "The registrar of the Department of Motor Vehicles should advise all licensees that 15-passenger vans are to be inspected twice a year, regardless of who operates them."

It has taken nearly six months, but finally, the Registrar of Motor Vehicles is implementing Recommendation #24 of the Coroners Inquest into the death of our sons.

Here is the letter that was sent out by Charles O'Donnell, the Registrar of Motor Vehicles on October 15, to every person in New Brunswick who possesses a Class 1, 2, 3-4 and 4 license. These licensees can drive a vehicle that carries 10 or more people.

____ LETTER FROM THE REGISTRAR OF MOTOR VEHICLES ____

To: All New Brunswick Licensed drivers' class 1, 2, 3-4 and 4.

RE: Operation of vehicles with a seating capacity of 10 passengers or more (including driver)

Madam/Sir:

The Government of New Brunswick draws your attention to the following directions for drivers licensed under New Brunswick's Motor Vehicle Act holding a class 1,2,3-4,4.

For all drivers of vehicles with a seating capacity of 10 passengers or more (including driver):

Regulation 84-185 of the Motor Vehicle Act requires that buses, school buses or contracted conveyances and taxis are subject to motor vehicle inspection twice a year. These vehicles must bear an SV (semiannual) inspection sticker. The Motor Vehicle Act describes bus as "any motor vehicle designed for carrying ten or more passengers and used for the transportation of persons." lf you do not have a proper SV type sticker your current LV sticker will be honored for up to 6 months from the inspection date.

For several years passenger vans were inspected using the New Brunswick Official Motor Vehicle Inspection Manual. To enhance vehicle safety, from this date forward, all vehicles with a seating capacity of 10 passengers or more [including driver] are subject to a "Heavy Vehicle Inspection" using the Periodic Commercial Motor Vehicle Inspections manual. These vehicles, after inspection, must bear an SV (semi-annual) inspection sticker. For a list of vehicle inspection stations in your area, you can consult the Automobile section of the yellow pages in your telephone directory.

In order to drive a vehicle with a seating capacity of 10 passengers or more including the driver), you require a Class 1,2,3-4 or 4 driver's license.

The Motor Vehicle Act's Regulations require drivers / owners of these vehicles to abide by a series of requirements, including:

a maximum driving time of 13 hours a day;
a maximum on-duty time of 14 hours a day;
and
a person cannot drive after 16 hours from the time work began that day,
regardless of the number of on-duty hours worked.
Drivers must also maintain and carry a driver's log book if traveling
outside a radius of 160 km of their home terminal.
Drivers must also comply with Daily Trip Inspection (NSC Standard 13) requirements
by performing a pre-trip inspection of the vehicle.

Drivers must also comply with the Daily Trip Inspection (NSC Standard 13) requirements by performing a pre-trip
inspection of the vehicle.

Please contact the Motor Vehicle Branch at 506-453-2410 for detailed information and assistance regardiing your specific
situation /circumstances.

Sincerely

Charles A. 0'Donnell
Registrar of Motor Vehicles