Two Bathurst mothers whose sons were killed in a tragic 15 passenger van collision that took the lives of seven members of the Bathurst High School Phantoms basketball team say not much has changed since their sons' deaths four years ago. Click here to read original article in Collision Repair Magazine
"We still have a long way to go to educate the public about the dangerous use of 15 passenger vans for human transportation," says Isabelle Hains, whose son Daniel was 17 years old when he was killed on January 12, 2008.
Hains say a recent application to the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board by Advanced Shuttle Services Ltd. of PEI for a permit to transport university students using 15 passenger vans "proves they have learned nothing from our sons' deaths."
Hains and Ana Acevedo, whose 17 year old son Javier was also killed in the Bathurst crash, are objecting to the PEI company's application to the EUB. They say it's a public safety issue and cite the record of 15 passenger vans, including the Boys in Red tragedy, as reasons why the Board should decline a permit.
Hains and Acevedo say that although the Liberal government of Shawn Graham banned the use of 15 passenger vans for student transportation in the wake of the Boys in Red tragedy, replacing them with Multi-Function Activity Buses (MFABs), both the Liberal and Conservative governments refuse to hire professional Class 2 B licensed drivers, one of the May 2009 Coroners Inquest key recommendations.
"Instead, the government prefers to use volunteer drivers - well meaning coaches, teachers and other parents who shouldn't have that responsibility on their shoulders. These MFABs are similar to Yellow School Buses. They require a skill to drive them which professional Class 2 bus drivers already have. That would solve a lot of the safety and policy issues right there because professional bus drivers know what they have to do. They are already trained," Hains says.
In their letter to the EUB, Hains and Acevedo say that Advanced Shuttle Services is targetting University students and they feel compelled to object to the permit:
The full text of the letter to the EUB is available at blog.vanangels.ca/2012/01/new-brunswick-energy-and-utilities.html.
Last Updated on Monday, 09 January 2012 11:28
Click here to read original article in Collision Repair Magazine
