Introduction
Bus safety is an ongoing Transport Canada responsibility.
The Department administers new vehicle construction standards under the Motor Vehicle
Safety Act and contributes to motor carrier operational safety standards under the Motor
Vehicle Transport Act and the National Safety Code for Motor Carriers. Provincial and
foreign governments also have bus construction and operating safety regulations, providing
a wide range of experience from inside and outside Canada.
Economic regulation is giving way to safety fitness as the
criterion for bus operating authority. Proposed federal Motor Vehicle Transport Act
amendments would complete the Canadian process towards safety fitness regulation by
provincial and territorial governments.
The Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations (CMVSS) and the
National Safety Code for Motor Carriers are two major national instruments of bus and
other commercial vehicle safety regulation. The National Safety Code is administered by
the federal/provincial/territorial Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators and
enforced by provincial/territorial governments. Both instruments are dynamic and subject
to constant review.
Transport Canada seeks to ensure that its standards and
those of the National Safety Code are the best available and as good as necessary for
Canada to achieve the Road Safety Vision 2001 goal to have the safest roads in the world.
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Objective
To identify and describe ongoing bus safety issues and
programs; to identify further related information requirements and possible action items;
and to serve as a basis for consultation with stakeholders.
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Method
Directorate staff with bus safety experience held a series
of group meetings. Initial discussions identified issues and subsequent meetings examined
selected items. Comments and references were recorded and edited. Details were verified
where possible and report sections were drafted and discussed.
The report is in four parts: Bus safety data; Bus
safety – general; Passenger protection in buses other than school buses; and School
bus passenger protection. These are followed by conclusions and a summary of Transport
Canada programs.
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