The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is the federal agency responsible for regulating highway safety. Among the laws it administers are several school bus safety standards. Primarily, these laws require the construction of school buses to exacting crashworthiness standards.

The fact that 10-15 passenger vans are not manufactured to these construction regulations means simply that these vehicles do not "conform" to school bus safety standards. Since they do not conform to these standards, when they used to provide transportation service to K-12 students, they are non-conforming. Federal law does not allow vehicles that don't meet school bus construction regulations to be used in school transportation service. Hence the term non-conforming van. The same vehicle may be used to transport teachers or administrators on official school business and in that application, its use is perfectly legal.

The issue has long been troubling for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal agency charged with enforcing school bus safety laws. For more than two decades the agency has issued numerous warnings against the use of non-conforming vans.

NHTSA reports that between 1993 to 1999, there were at least 71 non-collision van rollovers, causing 126 fatalities. Those accidents included passenger and cargo vans.

In mid-1997, after decades of inaction, the agency initiated legal proceedings against six automobile dealers it alleges knowingly violated the law by selling vans to school clients, for student transportation use.

• Rollover Propensity of 15-Passenger Vans: NHTSA Notes [75 KB] (April 2001) NHTSA research report reviews crash data of 15-passenger vans, measures the Static Stability Factor of several van configurations, and provides a simulation analysis of the handling characteristics of loaded and unloaded 15-passenger vans.

• Characteristics of Fatal Rollover Crashes, Technical Report, DOT HS 809-438, (April 2002) Report by the National Center for Statistis and Analysis about the rollover characteristics of passenger vehicles, including 15 passenger vans. Data studied covered 1991 to 2000. [792 KB]

• NHTSA Reissues Warning: (April 15, 2002) The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today reissued a cautionary warning to users of 15-passenger vans because of an increased rollover risk under certain conditions. A similar warning was issued in 2001.

• Reducing the Risk of Rollover Crashes in 15-Passenger Vans (April 15, 2002) In this flyer, NHTSA describes its research into the handling and rollover characteristics of 15-passenger vans. It gives tips on how rollover crashes can be avoided and offers other considerations for safe driving of the vehicles.

• NHTSA Viewpoint: Statement from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the use of vans in school service that do not conform to federal school bus safety standards.

• Federal Law on Nonconforming Vans: 49 USC 301 outlining the prohibitions on manufacturing, selling, and importing noncomplying motor vehicles and equipment.

• Vans and FMVSS: 1/15/91 NHTSA letter explaining the agency's opposition to 12-15 passenger vans in school service, and relationship of these vans to a series of federal motor vehicles safety standards.

• NHTSA Penalties: After more than two decades of inaction NHTSA announced penalties against 10 auto dealers for selling vans as school buses.

• In mid-April 2001, NHTSA issued a highly unusual consumer advisory cautioning against the high rollover risk of passenger vans under certain conditions. The NHTSA report, "The Rollover Propensity of of Fifteen Passenger Vans," concluded that the risk of rollover increases dramatically as the number of occupants increases from fewer than five to over ten passengers.

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