Interpretation ID: 20687.drn

Mr. Alan C. Reiffe, CPA
Business Administrator/Board Secretary
Allendale Public Schools
100 Brookside Avenue
Allendale, NJ 07401-1975

Dear Mr. Reiffe:

This responds to your letter concerning how Allendale Public School children must be transported when they go on field trips. You ask, "Inasmuch as New Jersey requires seat belts on public school buses, is there a similar requirement for coach buses when they are used to transport children on school field trips?"

Your question is determined by New Jersey law. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regulates motor vehicle manufacturers and dealers that sell or lease new vehicles. We have no statutory authority to specify how children must be transported, or whether the vehicles they are transported in must have seat belts.

For information about New Jersey's requirements for transporting your students, please contact New Jersey's Director for Pupil Transportation:

We would like to conclude by restating the importance that our agency attaches to the use of safe buses to transport children. It remains our position that a school bus meeting the motor vehicle safety standards is the safest means of transportation for school children. It may not be the most comfortable for long trips, since it lacks the reclining seats and restroom facilities of some coach buses, but it has safety features that coach buses lack, such as seat backs designed to cushion impacts, windows that prevent ejections, and exits that facilitate escape after crashes. We urge schools and school districts to consider these features when determining the transportation needs of their school children.

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions about NHTSA's programs please feel free to contact Dorothy Nakama at this address or at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
ref:VSA#571.3
d.10/14/99