Interpretation ID: aiam4380
Chief
Enforcement Services Division
Department of California Highway Patrol
P.O. Box 898
Sacramento
CA 95804;
Dear Mr. Short: This responds to your letter to our office concerning our certificatio requirements for manufacturers of school buses. I apologize for the delay in responding to your inquiry.; According to your letter, California's school bus regulations requir vehicles considered as 'school buses' under state law to be certified as 'school buses' under Federal law. Vehicles considered as 'school buses' under state law include multipurpose passenger vehicles (MPV's) used to carry two or more handicapped pupils confined to wheelchairs. Consequently, under California's school bus regulations, an MPV cannot be used to carry handicapped students unless it is certified as meeting our school bus safety standards. Because manufacturers have informed you that NHTSA prohibits them from certifying an MPV as a school bus, you request that we remove this restriction by permitting the school bus certification for MPV's.; Your understanding is correct that our regulations prohibit MPV's to b certified as 'school buses.' Under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act and NHTSA regulations, manufacturers classify their new motor vehicles in accordance with the definitions we issued for our motor vehicle safety standards (49 CFR Part 571.3) and certify that their vehicles meet all Federal safety standards applicable to the vehicle type. Under the definitions of Part 571.3, the issue of seating capacity makes the school bus and MPV definitions mutually exclusive. The passenger seating capacity of an MPV must be 9 or less, while that of a school bus must be 10 or more. A manufacturer cannot certify a vehicle as a 'school bus' in compliance with Federal school bus safety standards unless the vehicle is of a size that puts it within the school bus category.; Adopting your suggestion that we permit some MPV's to be certified a school buses could not be accomplished without changing either our 'school bus' definition, our regulations for certifying vehicles, or the application of our school bus safety standards. As explained below, we must decline your implicit request to make these changes because of a statutory restriction and because we believe their adoption is not warranted by a safety need.; We are precluded from adopting the suggestion that we expand our schoo bus definition to include some MPV's because our school bus definition is governed by legislation enacted by Congress. In the Motor Vehicle and Schoolbus Safety Amendments of 1974, Congress added a 'school bus' definition to the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act which is based on the design and intended use of a 'bus.' Congress directed that upgraded school bus safety requirements be applied to buses that carry more than 10 passengers and that are determined by NHTSA likely to be significantly used for the purpose of school transportation.; Your second implicit suggestion is that we change our certificatio regulations to permit manufacturers to certify a vehicle as both an 'MPV' and a 'school bus.' Such a change would not be practical. A manufacturer's certification of a vehicle is a declaration that the vehicle is manufactured to comply with all Federal motor vehicle safety standards applicable to that vehicle type. Since our performance requirements for MPV's are not identical to those for school buses, an MPV cannot be manufactured to meet the standards applicable to both vehicle types.; The third suggestion implicit in your letter is that a dua certification can be effectuated by extending the application of our school bus safety standards to some MPV's. We are not aware of any data suggesting a safety need for such a change. MPV's already have their own safety standards to ensure adequate levels of safety performance for those vehicles. Because of those standards, we do *not* prohibit the sale of MPV's to transport school children. Further, we do not believe the change you suggest is necessary to address the issue raised in your letter. Federal law does not prohibit manufacturers from voluntarily manufacturing MPV's to meet school bus standards on aspects of performance that do not conflict with MPV standards, such as emergency exits and joint strength. California may thus specify performance standards now applicable to school buses for MPV's used to transport handicapped children, provided that the MPV's can continue to comply with MPV standards. Of course, the vehicles would still be certified only as MPV's.; In your letter, you mentioned that you examined the definitions se forth in Highway Safety Program Standard No. 17, *Pupil Transportation Safety*, for 'Type I' and 'Type II' school vehicles. As you know, Standard No. 17 was issued under the Highway Safety Act as a standard for State highway safety programs. Since the 'standard' consists of our recommendations for the operation of school vehicles, the Type I and Type II school vehicle definitions found in Standard No. 17 are relevant for determining the operational recommendations applicable to different school vehicles. Those definitions do not, however, change the Vehicle Safety Act's definition of a school bus or the Act's requirements for a manufacturer to certify school buses to all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards.; I hope this information is helpful. Please contact my office if yo have further questions.; Sincerely, Erika Z. Jones, Chief Counsel