Interpretation ID: aiam4337
United States Senate
Washington
DC 20510;
Dear Senator Stevens: Thank you for your April 23, 1987, letter on behalf of you constituent, Ms. Nadra L. Angerman of Wrangell, who is concerned that there is no Federal requirement for safety belts on school buses. Your letter has been referred to my office for reply, since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is responsible for administering Federal programs relating to school bus safety.; I appreciate this opportunity to respond to Ms. Angerman's concerns. A explained below, NHTSA does not require large school buses to have safety belts for passengers because we require those buses to provide an alternate form of passenger crash protection. Our safety standards are directed at improving the interior of large school buses so that passengers will be provided adequate crash protection even if safety belts are not used.; I would like to begin with some background information on our schoo bus regulations. NHTSA is responsible for developing safety standards applicable to all new motor vehicles, including school buses. In 1977, we issued a set of motor vehicle safety standards for various aspects of school bus safety. Included in that set is Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 222, *School Bus Passenger Seating and Crash Protection.* Standard No. 222 requires large school buses--i.e., those with gross vehicle weight ratings over 10,000 pounds--to provide passenger crash protection through a concept called 'compartmentalization.' Compartmentalization refers to designing the interior of large buses so that children are protected regardless of whether they have fastened a safety belt. The key features include higher and stronger seat backs, additional seat padding, and better seat spacing and performance.; Our safety standards require a safety belt for the school bus drive since the driver's position is not compartmentalized. We also require safety belts for passengers in smaller school buses because those buses experience greater crash forces than do larger buses.; However, because large school buses already offer substantia protection to passengers, we believe a Federal requirement for safety belts in those vehicles is unnecessary. Large school buses are very safe vehicles not only because they meet Federal school bus safety standards, but also because of their size and weight, the training and experience of their drivers and the extra care that other road users employ in the vicinity of school buses. TSA does not prevent States and local jurisdictions that wish to order safety belts on their own large school buses from doing so. Such a decision is a matter for the officials of the particular State or local jurisdiction, who are best able to assess their own preferences regarding pupil transportation.; A June 1985 NHTSA publication entitled, 'Safety Belts in School Buses, discusses many of the issues relating to safety belts in large school buses. I have enclosed a copy of the report for your information.; I hope you have found this information to be helpful. If you or you constituent have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.; Sincerely, Erika Z. Jones, Chief Counsel