BATHURST, N.B. - New Brunswick's Registrar of Motor Vehicles says a van involved in a deadly crash in northern New Brunswick in 2008, was given the proper motor vehicle inspection, but it didn't happen often enough.

Charles O'Donnell said during the coroner's inquest that the 15-passenger van should have been looked at every six months, rather than the once-per-year inspection it received.

Seven members of the Bathurst High School boys basketball team and the wife of their coach were killed Jan. 12, 2008 when the van veered across a slush-covered highway into the path of an oncoming transport truck.

Coach and driver, Wayne Lord, testified earlier that his passenger side tires caught the edge of the pavement, and the resulting steering correction sent the van out of control and into the path of the truck.

Much has been made about the mechanical condition of the van and its worn all-season tires.

A mechanic testifying Friday at the inquest said the vehicle was in such poor condition that it would not have passed a safety inspection at the time of the accident.

Curtis Bennett, a Bathurst mechanic who did the post-crash inspection for the RCMP, said that the van needed some new brake parts, had holes in the body and had tires that were worn in the middle, underinflated and out of alignment.

He said the wheel bearings were also out of alignment.

"This vehicle would have been a handful to drive," he testified.

The five-person jury was shown work orders that described the variety of regular repairs done on the vehicle over a period of a few years, and annual motor vehicle inspections.

Raymond Hache, a mechanic from Bathurst, described what's done during a motor vehicle inspection in New Brunswick and said he inspected the 15-passenger Ford E350 Clubwagon as a passenger vehicle, in early November 2007 -- just two months before the accident.

He said the van first failed inspection, but passed three days later after some repairs were made.

Hache said he inspected the van as a passenger vehicle because its weight was less than 3499 kilograms.

The registrar confirmed the vehicle class because of the weight, but said because it had more than 10 seats, it's considered a bus, and must be inspected every six months.

There was some confusion, because on Thursday, an investigator for Transport Canada said that as a bus, the van would be considered a commercial vehicle, and therefore have to meet slightly tougher requirements, including having deeper tire treads.

Department of Public Safety officials in Fredericton -- contacted late Friday by The Canadian Press -- also confirmed the van received the proper inspection, but it should have been done every six months.

O'Donnell said as a bus, there was a responsibility to keep complete vehicle and driver log books. Earlier testimony showed that was not done.

He said there are occasional audits on such log books, but the van was overlooked because the registration fell into a "miscellaneous" category that includes such things as plows and graders.

Leaving the courthouse Friday, Isabelle Hains -- who lost her son Daniel in the crash -- said she was upset to learn the van wasn't inspected often enough.

"The school didn't get the motor vehicle inspection done every six months, and I don't know if they didn't know or they weren't doing their homework," she said.

Hains and Ana Acevedo -- whose son Javier was killed -- pushed for the inquest in an effort to get new regulations for the travel of students to extracurricular activities.

Several other relatives of the victims attended the inquest Friday, and Hains said she was comforted by their presence.

"That's just making me feel so overwhelmed just seeing them there," she said outside.

Dale Branch, who lost his son Codey, said up until this point he didn't think he wanted to know the details.

"I don't know how much more I'm going to come, but it just puts you at ease hearing it first hand,"he said.

"Before, I didn't have to deal with it...but now, I have to deal with it."