Interpretation ID: aiam4282
Executive Director
Wisconsin School Bus Association
P.O. Box 168
Sheboygan
WI 53082-0168;
Dear Mr. Christian: This responds to your letter to former Chief Counsel Frank Bernd asking about our school bus regulations. I hope you find the following discussion helpful and regret the delay in providing it.; You ask whether our school bus safety standards apply to vehicle designed to carry 11 or more persons but which are actually used to transport nine or fewer students. According to your letter, Wisconsin does not consider 12 and 15-passenger vans as 'school buses' if they are used to carry only nine or fewer students. You ask also whether these vehicles must be painted and identified as school buses.; Because your letter raises several issues concerning our school bu regulations, I believe some background information might be helpful in answering your questions. Our agency has two sets of regulations that apply to school buses. The first set, issued under the authority of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act ('Vehicle Safety Act'), applies to the manufacture and sale of new motor vehicles and includes the Federal motor vehicle safety standards for school buses. The second set of 'regulations' for school buses was issued under the authority of the Highway Safety Act. Those regulations or 'highway safety program standards,' are recommendations from this agency to the states for developing their highway safety programs and includes guidelines on school bus color and marking.; The Vehicle Safety Act establishes requirements that manufacturers an sellers of new school buses must meet. It requires manufacturers to certify that their vehicles must meet all Federal safety standards applicable to 'school buses.' Further, the Act requires any person selling a new bus for pupil transportation purposes to sell a bus that complies with our motor vehicle safety standards for 'school buses' or be potentially subject to fines under Federal law for selling noncomplying vehicles. Under the regulations we issued under the Vehicle Safety Act, a new vehicle designed for carrying 11 or more persons (including the driver) is considered a 'bus,' and is considered to be a 'school bus' if sold for school-related purposes.; The first issue you raise is whether it is permissible under Federa law to transport students in 12 or 15-passenger vans which do not comply with Federal school bus safety standards, if the number of students transported is limited to nine or fewer. The answer to your question is yes. Please note that, as further explained below, the fact that the number of students actually carried on the bus is restricted to nine or fewer has no effect on the permissibility of the activity you described.; School bus users such as a school or school district may use thei 'plain (noncomplying) vans' to carry students. This is because the responsibility to comply with Vehicle Safety Act requirements falls upon the manufacturers and sellers of new school buses, and not the users of the vehicles. While persons selling new 12 or 15 passenger vans for pupil transportation purposes are obligated to sell buses which conform to our school bus safety standards, the Act imposes no requirement on school bus users that requires them to transport students in complying school buses.; You ask whether the phrase 'designed for carrying' in our 'bus definition refers to the number of seating positions the vehicle is manufactured with, or the number of passengers actually carried on the vehicle at any one time. The phrase 'designed for carrying' refers to the number of seating positions in the vehicle. NHTSA determines the passenger capacity of a vehicle by the vehicle's actual seating capacity, which is determined by identifying the number of designated seating positions in the vehicle. If a van is manufactured to carry 12 or 15 passengers, it is a 'bus' and must comply with school bus safety standards if sold to carry school children. For the purposes of Federal law, whether a school bus user will carry only nine or fewer students in its 12 or 15-passenger van has no affect on the seller's obligation to sell complying school buses.; Further, Federal law applies to the sale of the new 12 or 15-passenge school vans regardless of whether Wisconsin considers these vehicles 'school buses' under state law. I believe this was explained to your association in the June 20, 1983 letter from Mr. Berndt concerning state 'school bus' definitions. Mr. Berndt explained that 'the decision of a state not to adopt the Federal classification has no effect on the application of the Federal school bus standards to that vehicle.' Thus, even if new 12 or 15-passenger vans are not 'school buses' under state law, persons selling such vehicles for pupil transportation are obligated under Federal law to sell complying school buses.; Your next question asks whether 12 or 15-passenger vans must be marke and painted as school buses even if they transport 9 or fewer students. This question concerns the highway safety program standards which I referred to earlier in this letter. Highway Safety Program Standard No. 17, *Pupil Transportation Safety * (copy enclosed), includes recommendations for the operational aspects of state pupil transportation programs, such as school bus color and marking, vehicle maintenance and driver training. Since the decision to adopt Standard No. 17's recommendations is left to each state, Wisconsin law would determine whether the vans must be marked and painted as school buses.; Your final question asks where you can find the Federal standard relating to 'motor buses.' Part 571 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations contains the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards applicable to buses, school buses and other types of motor vehicles. As with the manufacture of school buses, manufacturers of buses must certify that their vehicles comply with all applicable Federal safety standards. I have enclosed information on how you can order a copy of our standards.; I hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if you hav further questions.; Sincerely, Erika Z. Jones, Chief Counsel