Interpretation ID: aiam4005
Esq.
Chief Counsel
Bureau of Motor Vehicles
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
Harrisburg
PA 17122;
Dear Mr. Manthorpe: Thank you for your June 17, 1985 letter concerning this agency' regulations for school buses. I hope the following information is of assistance.; We are aware that Pennsylvania recently amended its definition of 'bus' in Act 1984-146 to adopt the Federal definition of that term. As a result of that change in definition, school vehicles that are capable of carrying 11 persons (including the driver) are now considered 'school buses' under Pennsylvania law and must conform to the State's requirements for school buses. Those vehicles had not been previously considered as school buses, and there are apparently a large number of those vehicles used to carry school children which do not comply with Pennsylvania's requirements.; In letters from your Department to school districts and school bu contractors, it was suggested that seats could be removed or blocked off to restrict a vehicle's seating capacity to fewer than 10 passengers. In that way, the altered vehicle would no longer be a 'school bus' under Pennsylvania State law subject to State school bus regulations. You asked us whether those modifications would be acceptable under Federal law.; Some background on applicable Federal law may be helpful. The Nationa Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 1381 *et seq*.) authorizes this agency to establish safety standards for *new* motor vehicles. Under our regulations, a new vehicle designed for carrying more than 10 persons (including the driver) is considered a 'bus,' and is considered to be a 'school bus' if sold for school-related purposes. 49 C.F.R. 571.3(b). A 'school bus' must meet all Federal safety standards applicable to buses, and also those specifically applicable to 'school buses,' including Standard No. 220, *School Bus Rollover Protection*, Standard No. 221, *School Bus Body Joint Strength*, and Standard No. 222, *School Bus Passenger Seating and Crash Protection*. 49 C.F.R. 571.220, 571.221, 571.222. If a new vehicle is designed for carrying 10 or fewer persons, it is considered under our regulations to be either a 'passenger car' or a 'multipurpose passenger vehicle' (MPV), 49 C.F.R. 571.3(b), and must meet safety standards applicable to its vehicle type.; Under Federal law, the consequences of removing a seat from 10-passenger bus depend on when the seat is removed and on the person who removes it. If a manufacturer or dealer restricts the passenger capacity of a *new* bus to less than 10 before the vehicle is sold or delivered to the owner, then that manufacturer or dealer is considered an 'alterer' under our regulations. The requirements for alterers are set forth in 49 C.F.R. 567.7, *Requirements For Persons Who Alter Certified Vehicles*. The person who reduces the passenger capacity of a bus to nine or fewer before the vehicle's first sale changes the vehicle's classification to that of a MPV. As a result, the person modifying the new vehicle would be required to certify that the vehicle complies with all of the standards applicable to MPV's. Among other things, this would entail the installation of safety belts at all seating positions. (49 C.F.R. 571.208 S4.2, S4.3.); If the modifications were made after the vehicle's first purchase, ou regulations on vehicle alteration would no longer apply. However, there are still statutory restrictions on the types of modifications that may be made. Section 108(a)(2)(A) of the Vehicle Safety Act (15 U.S.C. S1397(a)(2)(A)) provides: 'No manufacturer, distributor, dealer or motor vehicle repair business shall knowingly render inoperative...any device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment in compliance with an applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standard...' In the case of a vehicle sold as a school bus, this provision means that a commercial alterer (in those specified categories) may remove a passenger seat, but must assure that the vehicle continues to comply with all applicable school bus standards after the seat has been removed. Section 109 of the Vehicle Safety Act (15 U.S.C. S1398) specifies a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for any person who violates section 108(a)(2)(A).; The prohibition against rendering inoperative in section 108(a)(2)(A of the Vehicle Safety Act does not apply to an owner, such as a school or a State, which modifies its own vehicles. The regulations we issued under the Vehicle Safety Act would not restrict, in any manner, how an owner may use its vehicle. Therefore, school bus owners may restrict the seating in their vehicles without regard to any Federal regulation administered by this agency.; Since NHTSA's authority under the Vehicle Safety Act extends primaril to the manufacture and sale of new motor vehicles, and not to motor vehicle use, the States retain the authority to determine the requirements under which motor vehicles may operate. If the State determines that vehicles originally manufactured to carry 10 or more school children may be operated as school vehicles when modified to carry only nine or fewer children, then there are no Federal statutory or regulatory impediments to owner modifications of this type. However, it remains our position that a school bus meeting the Federal school bus safety standards is the safest means of transportation for school children. While school buses have always been among the safest methods of transportation, the safety record of school buses has further improved in the years since buses began to be manufactured in accordance with the school bus safety standards. We therefore urge the States to carefully consider the benefits of assuring continued compliance with those standards for larger vehicles (i.e., those originally manufactured to carry more than 10 persons).; I hope this information is helpful. Please feel free to contact thi office if we can be of further assistance.; Sincerely, Jeffrey R. Miller, Chief Counsel