This
is an original
NHTSA Interpretation File[This
file was downloaded from the NHTSA
Website]
June 1, 1998
Steve Cox, President
Cox Chevrolet
2900 Cortez
Road West
Bradenton, FL 34207-1191
Dear Mr. Cox: This
responds to your letter regarding the use of 15-passenger vans by a dance studio
to pick up school children from school "five days a week" to transport to the
studio. You ask whether the vans are "school buses" under Federal law. As explained
below, a new 15-passenger van leased for such a purpose is a school bus. When
your dealership leases new buses to the dance studio for this purpose, the dealership
must lease only buses that meet Federal motor vehicle safety standards for school
buses. In
a telephone conversation with Dorothy Nakama of my staff, you explained that your
dealership leases three 15-passenger vans to Ms. Ellen Meade, who owns Ellen Meade
Studios, a "Professional School for the Performing Arts."(1) You also provided copies of the three passenger
van lease agreements, with each lease agreement describing the vehicle as "new."
By
way of background, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
is authorized to issue and enforce Federal motor vehicle safety standards applicable
to new motor vehicles, including school buses. In 1974, Congress enacted legislation
directing NHTSA to issue safety standards on specific aspects of school bus safety.
Our
statute at 49 U.S.C. §30112 requires any person selling or leasing a new vehicle
to sell or lease a vehicle that meets all applicable standards. Under our regulations,
a "bus" is any vehicle, including a van, that has a seating capacity of 11 persons
or more. Our statute defines a "school bus" as any vehicle that is designed for
carrying 11 or more persons and which is likely to be "used significantly" to
transport "preprimary, primary, and secondary" students to or from school
or related events (emphasis added). 49 U.S.C. §30125. Therefore, a 15-passenger
van that is likely to be used significantly to transport students is a "school
bus." If
the new van is sold or leased to transport students (e.g., leased on a regular
or long-term basis), the vehicle must meet NHTSA's school bus standards. Conventional
15-passenger vans cannot be certified as doing so, and thus cannot be sold or
leased, as new vehicles, to carry students on a regular basis. In
your situation, Ms. Meade writes that she is using the vans to "retriev[e] children
from the area schools for our after school program." It is therefore clear Ms.
Meade's studio is using the vans to pick the students up "from school." Whether
the buses are "used significantly" to transport the students is an issue that
the agency finds appropriate to resolve case-by-case, focusing on the intended
use of the vehicle. In your case, we note Ms. Meade's letter states that the vehicles
are used "five days a week" in picking up students from schools. In our view,
such regular use of the vehicle to pick up students "from school" (even if the
same students are not transported each of the five days), would constitute a "significant"
use of the vehicle. Therefore, when leasing new buses to Ellen Meade Studios for
the purpose of picking up students from school, you must lease buses that meet
the Federal motor vehicle safety standards applicable to "school buses." As
you may be aware, in interpretation letters of May 29, 1991 and September 6, 1991
to Ms. Vel McCaslin,
Director of Grace After School, an after school care program, NHTSA stated that
buses used to transport children to Ms. McCaslin's program would be "school buses"
only if the program is a "school or school-related event." The September 1991
letter indicated that the program picks up children from three area schools and
brings them to the church on a "daily" basis. These letters concluded that Grace
After School did not appear to be a "school," that the program was not a "school-related
event," and that NHTSA's school bus requirements thus did not apply. NHTSA has
reexamined the two letters to Ms. McCaslin in view of your letter. Upon reconsideration,
we have decided that the letters to Ms. McCaslin did not focus enough on the fact
that the buses were being used to transport school children "from school," as
specified in 49 U.S.C. §30125. Therefore, to the extent the May 29, 1991 and September
6, 1991 letters to Ms. McCaslin are inconsistent with this letter, they are
hereby superceded. We
note that you have included a letter from Ms. Meade to you in which she seeks
advice about "what to do." Requirements for the use of a motor vehicle are determined
by State law, so Florida's requirements should be consulted to determine how students
must be transported to and from school or school-related activities. In addition,
NHTSA believes that school buses are one of the safest forms of transportation
in this country, and therefore strongly recommends that all buses that are used
to transport school children be certified as meeting NHTSA's school bus safety
standards. Using 15-passenger vans that do not meet the school bus standards to
transport students could result in increased liability in the event of a crash.
Since such liability would be determined by State law, you and Ms. Meade may wish
to consult with an attorney or insurance carrier for advice on this issue. I
hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions, please feel
free to contact Dorothy Nakama at this address or by telephone at (202) 366-2992.
Sincerely,
(sgn) Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
Enclosures
cc: Ms. Ellen Meade
Ellen Meade Studios
1323
63rd Avenue East
Bradenton, FL 34203
cc: Ms. Vel McCaslin, Director
Grace After School
10221 Ella Lee at Sam Houston Tollway
Houston, TX 77042
ref:VSA#571.3
d.6/1/98 1.
It is unclear whether the dealership's representative arranging the leases
knew that Ms. Meade owned a studio and that
she intended to use the vans to transport her dance students from schools.
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