Fatal crash spurs activity trip safety campaign
FREDERICTON, New Brunswick — In the wake of a fatal accident on a high school basketball trip in January, officials in late August unveiled recomm...
FREDERICTON, New Brunswick — In the wake of a fatal accident on a high school basketball trip in January, officials in late August unveiled recommendations to bolster school activity trip safety.
The recommendations were developed by a working group composed of members of the provincial departments of Education, Transportation, Public Safety, and Supply and Services and the Office of the Attorney General.
The group’s recommendations target vehicle type, training, vehicle inspections, use of winter tires and superintendents’ responsibility in ensuring student travel safety.
Although the Department of Education has existing guidelines on transporting students to extracurricular events, it currently has no legal authority to enforce them. The new recommendations strengthen those guidelines, and they are being considered by the government to become enforceable regulations.
“I look upon these recommendations very favorably, and my Cabinet colleagues and I will be acting in the near future to put them into place,” Education Minister Kelly Lamrock said. “All parents want to know that their children will be safe when they travel to events, particularly in light of the Bathurst tragedy.”
In that accident, a 15-passenger van was transporting members of the Bathurst High School basketball team on the morning of Jan. 12 when it collided with a tractor-trailer. Eight occupants of the van — seven youths and one adult — were killed.
Investigators said that at the time of the accident, visibility was poor because of a light freezing rain, and the roadway was covered in slush in some areas and was very slippery.
A collision reconstructionist determined that seat belt usage may have been a factor in the high number of fatalities. Six of the victims were unrestrained, and one was not wearing his seat belt properly.
Three of the benches in the van were ejected from the vehicle.
The mechanic who examined the van after the accident determined that it would not have passed a motor vehicle inspection in its pre-collision state. However, the van was inspected on Oct. 29, 2007 — less than three months before the crash — and passed.
One of the working group’s recommendations is to prohibit the use of 15-passenger vans and other vehicles with a passenger capacity of more than nine occupants — other than school buses, multi-functional activity buses or motorcoaches — for student activity trips.
The Canadian Standards Association recently released a new standard for the multi-functional activity bus (to read story, click here), which is intended to be a safer alternative to other vehicles, such as vans, that are not classified as a school bus but are still used for student trips.
In addition to specifying vehicle type, the New Brunswick working group’s recommendations would also:
require activity trip drivers to successfully complete a Department of Education-sanctioned training program,
require the results of vehicle inspections and service to be submitted to the Department of Education,
require winter tires from Oct. 15 to April 30 every year,
provide additional resources to ensure compliance with regulations and monitoring,
and clarify the role of district superintendents with respect to the safe transportation of students to extracurricular activities.
More details on the recommendations can be found in the news section of the News Brunswick government Website, www.gnb.ca. The release date is Aug. 26.
More Safety

When Every Second Matters, Clarity Keeps Routes Moving
From routine delays to urgent incidents, strong communication practices help drivers, dispatchers, schools, and families respond with confidence.
Read More →
What Happens When a School Bus Catches Fire — and What Can Help
School bus fires are rare but can be devastating. Learn how advances in fire suppression and asset protection help fleets detect fires earlier, reduce damage, and improve safety.
Read More →
Geotab Launches Tool to Help Fleets Investigate Road Incidents
Geotab Investigations combines telematics data, video, documents, and other evidence to help fleets reconstruct incidents, resolve claims, and determine what happened.
Read More →
Texas Sixth Grader Wins 2026 National School Bus Safety Poster Contest
Sai Darshana Yekolu of Moseley Middle School in Prosper, Texas, was named the newest winner for her artwork, bringing the theme of “Safe Rides, Everyday Heroes” to life.
Read More →
Doing More With Less: How Transportation Directors Can Prioritize Safety Amid Budget Uncertainty
With diesel prices soaring and nearly one-third of transportation directors expecting budget cuts, maintaining student safety has never been more challenging. Download this guide to learn how leading districts are prioritizing risk, funding critical safety technology, and building stronger budget cases with data.
Read More →
Walton County Schools Adds Gatekeeper Stop-Arm Enforcement System
The Florida district will deploy Gatekeeper’s updated Student Protector technology, which now incorporates AI to improve video evidence.
Read More →
How To Build a More Secure School Bus Yard During and After Hours
As thefts and overnight security threats continue, school transportation leaders are combining stronger operational practices with AI-enabled surveillance to better protect buses, facilities, and staff.
Read More →
FMCSA Names New Chief Safety Officer: What School Bus Operators Should Know
Steve Dowling is set to lead the federal agency's efforts to advance commercial motor vehicle safety and reduce crashes, fatalities, and injuries on the nation's roadways.
Read More →
New Study Finds School Zone Speed Safety Cameras Cut Speeding Violations 97%
A Florida university's research demonstrates that Verra Mobility's automated enforcement changes driver behavior and significantly improves school zone safety.
Read More →
What Changed in DOT’s New National Roadway Safety Strategy?
The federal agency's new plan shifts its focus to safer people, roads and vehicles, with a new three-pronged approach instead of five. One outlined action even addresses a key industry concern around illegal school bus passing.
Read More →

