Interpretation ID: 77-4.23

TYPE: INTERPRETATION-NHTSA

DATE: 10/28/77

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; J. J. Levin, Jr.; NHTSA

TO: Thomas Built Buses, Inc.

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This responds to your September 15, 1977, letter asking several questions pertaining to Standard No. 222, School Bus Passenger Seating and Crash Protection, and Standard No. 217, Bus Window Retention and Release.

You first ask whether side-facing seats installed in school buses for purposes of transporting handicapped or convalescent passengers are exempted from the requirements of Standard No. 222. The answer to your question is yes. These seats are not considered "school bus seats" as that term is defined in S4 of the standard. The remaining forward-facing seats installed in the same bus, however, would be required to comply with all of the requirements of the standard.

In a related matter, you ask what your responsibility would be should a non-handicapped passenger use a handicapped passenger seat. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) realized when it adopted the limited seating exception applicable to seats for the handicapped that these seats might on occasion be used by non-handicapped passengers. The agency is continuing to study such problems in order to ensure that buses designed to accommodate handicapped passengers provide a sufficient level of safety for all individuals they routinely transport. Standard No. 222 does not place a responsibility upon school bus users to permit only handicapped students to sit in side-facing seats. Of course, any passenger seated in such a seat will not benefit from the protection provided by forward-facing seats that meet the requirements of the Federal standard.

In a final question, you ask whether the position of a wheel-chair in close proximity to the rear emergency exit of a bus would violate S5.4.2.1(a) of Standard No. 217. The NHTSA will measure the opening using the described parallelepiped device as the vehicle is constructed in its unloaded condition. Since the wheelchair would not be present when the vehicle was in its unloaded condition, your location of the wheelchair would not violate the standard.

SINCERELY,

Thomas BUILT BUSES, INC.

September 15, 1977

Office of the Chief Counsel U. S. Department of Transportation

Attn: Roger Tilton

Subject: FMVSS-222 and FMVSS-217 We are enclosing three (3) prints of a proposed Model 2200 with a seating plan for handicapped and non-handicapped persons.

Several questions have arisen concerning the legality of the proposed seating plan, and we are requesting your advice on these issues:

1. The side facing seats over the rear wheelhouses do not have to meet FMVSS-222 as per 571.222 (amended) S4, Definitions as published in the Federal Register, Vol. 41, No. 134 - Monday, July 12, 1976. Are we correct in this case?

2. The other seats - 8 in number and all forward facing - must meet FMVSS - 222, are we correct in this case?

3. The preamble on page 28508 of the aforementioned Federal Register speaks to, and we quote "The decision to withdraw requirements for side facing used by handicapped or convalescent students will result in cost savings to manufacturers and purchasers. The action may encourage production of specialized buses that otherwise not be built if the seating were subject to the standard." Since it speaks only to the handicapped or convalescent, what if non-handicapped person occupies the seat? This can occur frequently since most of these buses are used for both non and also handicapped persons. Are we in compliance?

4. This question deals with FMVSS 2.7. As indicated in our floor plan, one wheelchair is close proximity to the rear emergency door. Since a wheelchair is movable and not an occupant seat, is the position of the chair in conflict with the FMVSS-S5.4.2.1(a)?

Once again we will mention that the configuration is of a specialized vehicle.

Thanking you in advance, we remain

James Tydings, Specification Engineer