Safety advocate Bryan Murphy at the Boys in Red memorial on Highway 8 near Bathurst, NB, June 15, 2010. Photo by Melynda Jarratt.Published Wednesday June 16th, 2010, Page A5
Transportation: Bathurst MP's bill calling for prohibition of vehicles supported
by Benjamin Shingler Telegraph-Journal
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BATHURST - A safety advocate who lobbied successfully for the banning of 15-passenger vans in a British Columbia town is now calling on the Harper government to impose a countrywide ban on transporting students in the vehicles.
Bryan Murphy, a mechanic, school bus driver and union representative, says it's imperative for the safety of Canada's children that the vans be outlawed for school use.
"I've come to realize, based on the number of accidents and the research that I've done, it's shown me that these vehicles aren't safe," Murphy said in an interview on Tuesday in Bathurst.
Murphy was in the city to lend his support to people in the community who are pushing for further changes to make transportation safer for students.
Last month, Murphy joined Isabelle Hains in Ottawa to lobby for Acadie-Bathurst MP Yvon Godin's private member's Bill C-522, which would prohibit the use of 15-passenger vans for transporting students in Canada.
Hains' son, Daniel, was a member of the Bathurst High School basketball team who was killed when the team's 15-passenger van swerved on the highway and collided with a transport truck.
New Brunswick has since banned the vans for students.
Godin's bill proposes a change to the Criminal Code that would make it an offence to transport students in vans with more than 10 seats and fewer than 17 seats.
"We're really hopeful that the Conservative government will take action on the bill," Murphy said.
Murphy was a consultant to the B.C. coroner's inquest into the 2007 deaths of three farm workers who were killed when the driver of their overloaded 15-passenger van lost control of the vehicle and hit a highway divider.
He also lobbied successfuly for the banning of 15-passenger vans in Cowichan, British Columbia.
Murphy believes Transport Canada is fully aware of the safety pitfalls of the vehicles, but continues to delay on the issue.
In recent years, the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued numerous safety warnings about the vans, which are now banned for the transporting of children in 43 American states. The United States government also prohibits the sale of the vans to schools and daycares.
Only three provinces in Canada have banned the use of 15-passenger vans for student transportation. Nova Scotia stopped using the vehicles in 1986 after two accidents resulted in the deaths of students. New Brunswick banned their use following the Bathurst tragedy. Quebec took the initiative in the summer of 2008 and will not allow 15-passenger vans to be used by schools.
Ultimately, Murphy wants the vans to be banned from transporting all groups of people.
"Preschool, daycare, senior citizens "¦ Why does one group have more value more than the other?"
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