Interpretation ID: aiam3929
Vehicle Inspection Services
Room 438
Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles
100 Nashua Street
Boston
MA 02114;
Dear Mr. Hourihan: This responds to your March 11, 1985 letter to the National Highwa Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concerning our school bus safety standards. You asked who is responsible for determining, at the time of the initial sale of the bus, whether the vehicle's intended use is to transport school children. You also asked who is the party responsible for ensuring that a school bus complies with the motor vehicle safety standards applicable to school buses.; The responsibility for determining whether the vehicle's intended us is to transport school children rests with the seller of the school bus. The Vehicle Safety Act prohibits manufacturers, dealers or distributors from selling new buses for school transportation which do not comply with the Federal school bus safety standards. I have enclosed a Federal Register notice (40 FR 60033) that discusses the responsibility of manufacturers and dealers who know that a vehicle will be used to transport school children to sell school buses that comply with our school bus safety standards. As discussed in that notice, the agency believes that, of all the persons in the chain of distribution who are subject to the Vehicle Safety Act, the seller is most likely to have knowledge of the likely use of the vehicle. Of course, the seller is not held responsible for more than its knowledge of the purpose of the sale.; In response to your second question, under the Vehicle Safety Act, th manufacturer of a new school bus certifies that its vehicle meets the motor vehicle safety standards applicable to school buses. The party selling a new bus for school transportation is responsible for selling a complying school bus.; In your letter, you state that new 10- to 15-passenger buses are bein sold to schools and school districts in Massachusetts for the transportation of students even though they may not comply with our school bus safety standards. We would appreciate learning more about instances in which a noncomplying bus may have been sold. Please provide any information you may have to NHTSA's Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, Room 6113, at the address given above. With respect to the future purchases of new vehicles, schools and school districts should keep in mind that the dealers are obligated to sell vehicles that meet the school bus safety standards. The dealers should know that they are at risk if they sell noncomplying vehicles.; In a telephone conversation with Ms. Hom of my staff on March 25, yo requested that we send you the Federal Register notice (41 FR 28506) that interpreted the term 'public school buses' to include buses owned and operated by a private contractor under contract with a State to provide transportation for students to and from public schools. You will find that notice enclosed.; Please let me know if you have any further questions. Sincerely, Jeffrey R. Miller, Chief Counsel