NEW CANADIAN STANDARD FOR SCHOOL TRANSPORT VEHICLES

The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) has published the standard CSA D270 on multi-functional activity buses (MFABs). This is the first Canadian standard developed to provide voluntary requirements for the new proposed class of vehicle. MFABs are intended to be used as a safer alternative to vehicles not classified as a school bus but which are still used to transport groups of school-aged passengers to sporting events, community activities, or other such educational or childcare facilities and outings. The new standard does not include requirements for traffic and pedestrian control devices such as warning lamps or stop arms, as these buses are not to be used for roadside pick-up and drop-off of passengers. The standard was initially proposed in 2006 as members of the CSA Technical Committee responsible for school bus standards began seeing non-conforming vehicles, or those not classified or tested to school bus standards, being increasingly used for the transportation of students for school-related activities in Canada. Currently there are no …