Interpretation ID: aiam1439
Project Engineer
Blue Bird Body Company
P.O. Box 937
Fort Valley
GA 31030;
Dear Mr. Milby: This is in reply to your letter dated December 6, 1973, requestin clarification of the definition of school bus' as it appears in NHTSA regulations. You point out that school bus is defined for purposes of the Motor Vehicle Safety Standards in 49 CFR 571.3 to mean a bus designed primarily to carry children to and from school. . .', but is defined differently in Highway Safety Standard No. 17 (23 CFR 204.4), i.e., any motor vehicle with motive power, except a trailer, *used* to carry more than 16 pupils to and from school'. You also refer to our interpretation regarding Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 217 which states that the term school bus' as defined in 49 CFR S 571.3 includes buses designed as school buses but which are not intended or sold to transport children to and from school. You state that as a result it is unclear whether buses designed but not used as school buses, including church and civic group buses, must be equipped with warning lamps under S4.1.4 of Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108. In this regard, you state that you require purchasers to indicate on their purchase order whether the bus will be used primarily to transport children to and from school, and ask whether this is an acceptable form for a manufacturer to use to determine whether a vehicle will be used as a school bus.; We do not interpret Standard No. 108 to require warning lights on buse that are not intended to be used to transport school children. Our interpretation regarding Standard No. 217, exempting school bus-type buses from the emergency exit requirements of that standard (which applies as well to buses manufactured by Blue Bird), was based on what we believed at that time was a special need to exempt such buses from the requirements of that standard. We are aware of the inconsistency in the application of the definition of school bus' in Standards Nos. 108 and 217 and we intend to modify these requirements so that they will be applied consistently.; The difference between the definition ofBschool (sic) bus in th Highway Safety Act and in the Motor Vehicle Safety Standards under the Vehicle Safety Act is that the latter statute and the requirements issued thereunder apply to the manufacturing process. The requirements issued under the Highway Safety Act apply more directly to school bus use.; Whether a particular bus is a school bus cannot be ascertained merel by the representation of the purchaser. The manufacturer should base his decision as well on the objective characteristics of the vehicle, so that he can be reasonably certain that the purchaser's representations are *bona fide*.; Sincerely, Lawrence R. Schneider, Chief Counsel