This
is an original
NHTSA Interpretation File
[This
file was downloaded from the NHTSA
Website]
September 26, 2000
The Honorable Todd Tiahrt
United States House of Representatives
155 North
Market, Suite 400
Wichita, KS 67202
Dear Congressman Tiahrt:
Thank you for your letter to the Department of Transportation's Office of Congressional
Affairs, on behalf of Mr. Maurice Linnens, of Kansas Truck Equipment Co., Inc.
Because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) administers
Federal regulations for school buses, your letter has been referred to my office
for reply.
Your constituent seeks clarification of the effect of Federal regulations on the
sale of an "over-the-road activity bus" (motorcoach) to a Kansas school district.
Mr. Linnens would like to sell a new motorcoach to a school district, but was
told that Federal law would prohibit the sale, even though it would be permitted
under Kansas law. You ask for our views on several letters from Kansas officials
and from Mr. Roger Theis, Mr. Linnens' attorney, concerning Federal and state
school bus regulations.
As explained below, under NHTSA's regulations, any new bus (including a motorcoach)
that is sold for purposes that include carrying students to and from school or
related events must comply with the standards for school buses issued by this
agency under 49 U.S.C. §30101 et seq. (formerly referred to as the National Traffic
and Motor Vehicle Safety Act). While Kansas apparently permits schools to purchase
motorcoaches as "activity buses," Federal law would not permit manufacturers and
dealers to sell a new motorcoach for this purpose unless the vehicle is certified
as meeting Federal school bus safety standards.
NHTSA is authorized to issue and enforce Federal motor vehicle safety standards
applicable to new motor vehicles. Each new vehicle must meet all applicable safety
standards or it cannot be sold. In a 1974 amendment to the Safety Act (Public
Law 93-492), Congress expressly directed us to issue standards on specific aspects
of school bus safety, including school bus emergency exits, seating systems, window
and windshields, and bus body structural integrity. The standards we issued became
effective on April 1, 1977, and apply to each new "school bus" manufactured on
or after that date. Our statute defines a "school bus" as any vehicle that is
designed for carrying a driver and more than 10 passengers and which, NHTSA decides,
is likely to be "used significantly" to transport "preprimary, primary, and secondary"
students to or from school or related events. (1) 49 U.S.C. §30125. This definition
was enacted in 1974, as part of the comprehensive effort by Congress to increase
school bus safety. By regulation, the capacity threshold for school buses corresponds
to that of buses -- vehicles designed for carrying more than ten (10) persons.
The
great majority of vehicles used to transport students fall within the definition
of "school bus." More specifically, any new "bus" (including a motorcoach) sold
to a school district, or to a school bus contractor, is considered to be a "school
bus" when sold for pupil transportation, and as such must comply with the school
bus safety standards. A dealer or distributor who sells a new bus to a school
district or school bus contractor that does not meet school bus standards is subject
to penalties under the statute. Because our laws generally apply only to manufacturers
and dealers of new motor vehicles, we do not regulate a school district's use
of a bus to transport school children, even when the bus does not meet Federal
school bus safety standards. However, each state has the authority to set its
own standards regarding the use of motor vehicles, including school buses. The
letters you enclosed from Kansas state officials reflect an opinion that a new
motorcoach purchased and operated for transporting pupils to school-related activities
is not a school bus ("route bus") under state law. A state's determination that
a motorcoach is exempted from its school bus standards does not affect the Federal
requirement that new buses sold by dealers for pupil transportation must meet
the Federal motor vehicle safety standards for school buses. Thus, Federal law
would not permit the sale of a new motorcoach to the school district unless the
vehicle were certified as a school bus. The views of Mr. Theis on this issue are
essentially correct. As you have pointed out in your letter, a school district
can be sold a used motorcoach, even when the bus could not be sold when new. This
is because our requirement to sell vehicles that meet applicable safety standards
does not apply to the sale of a motor vehicle "after the first purchase of the
vehicle ... in good faith other than for resale," i.e., to sales of used vehicles.
(See 49 U.S.C. §30112(b)(1).) Nonetheless, because school buses are one of the
safest forms of transportation in this country, we strongly recommend that all
buses that are used to transport school children be certified as meeting NHTSA's
school bus safety standards. In addition, using buses that do not meet NHTSA's
school bus standards to transport students could result in liability in the event
of a crash.
I am enclosing NHTSA's publication: "School Bus Safety: Safe Passage for America's
Children." This brochure explains the safety enhancements of a school bus that
makes school buses safer than non-school buses.
Our belief that vehicles providing the safety of school buses should be used whenever
transporting children in buses is shared by the National Transportation Safety
Board (NTSB). At a June 8, 1999, public meeting, the NTSB issued the enclosed
abstract of a special investigative report on nonconforming buses. The NTSB issued
the report after investigating four crashes in 1998 and 1999 in which 9 people
were killed and 36 injured when riding in "nonconforming buses." NTSB defines
"nonconforming bus" as a "bus that does not meet the FMVSSs specific to school
buses." Most of the victims, including eight of the fatalities, were children.
I
hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions, please contact
John Womack, Esq., NHTSA's Senior Assistant Chief Counsel, at (202) 366-9511.
Sincerely,
Frank
Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
Enclosures
ref:VSA#571.3
d.9/26/00
1.
NHTSA has consistently interpreted "related events" to include school-sponsored
field trips and athletic events.
