Isabelle Hains and Delalene Harris Foran speak to the media at a press conference held December 1, 2010 in Fredericton to discuss the Sackville bus tire incident.UPDATE: We have been advised this morning by Education Minister Jody Carr that an investigation into this newest bus tire incident is underway.
CUPE 1253 renews its call for action on school bus use
“We can’t ask volunteer drivers to be responsible for the maintenance of the vehicle. This time, we were fortunate that the driver was a professional school bus driver and decided to stop to inspect the wheels.”
Click here to read original article on CUPE Website
The union representing school bus drivers, CUPE Local 1253, is concerned about another incident that happened during the transport of students for an extra-curricular activity.
“One of our professional bus drivers, who is also a driver-trainer, was asked to take the Aux Quatre Vents school hockey team to Miramichi. On his way back, he noticed the multi-function activity bus was not handling right. He decided to pull over to the side of the road and discovered that the nuts on the back wheels were loose”, explained the president of the New Brunswick Council of School District Unions (CUPE 1253), Delalene Harris Foran.
“The driver decided to have the bus towed back to Bathurst and parents had to come and pick up their kids.”
“Apparently, the bus had been inspected in November and all new tires were put on, but nobody took the bus back to have the wheel nuts torqued”, explained Harris Foran.
“We can’t ask volunteer drivers to be responsible for the maintenance of the vehicle. This time, we were fortunate that the driver was a professional school bus driver and decided to stop to inspect the wheels.”
“This is the second time in less than a month that a bus transporting students to extra-curricular activities had to be pulled off the road for safety reasons.”
“Once again, we call upon the minister of Education to implement the Coroner’s Inquest recommendation that only Class 2-B professional school bus drivers using school buses be used to transport children at extra-curricular activities at all times”, concluded Harris Foran.
Click here to read original article on CUPE Website
