Interpretation ID: 86-5.47

TYPE: INTERPRETATION-NHTSA

DATE: 11/17/86

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Diane K. Steed; NHTSA

TO: Douglas Applegate

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT:

The Honorable Douglas Applegate U.S. House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Mr. Applegate:

Thank you for your letter enclosing correspondence from your constituent, Mr. Thomas Ash of past Liverpool, who asked about our school bus definition. I appreciate this opportunity to respond to your concerns.

Mr. Ash explained in his letter to you that Ohio considers vehicles carrying 10 or more student passengers as school buses. be stated that because a vehicle carrying 9 or fewer passengers is not a "school bus" under state law, it may be operated by staff members and advisors who do not have the special qualifications required by the state for school bus drivers. Since the East Liverpool Board of Education would like to use 15-passenger vans operated by those staff members and advisors to carry school children to school related events, it is interested in changing Ohio's definition of a school bus to exclude such vans. Because the state definition of a school bus adopts the Federal definition of that term, Mr. Ash asks us to explain the reasons for our school bus definition.

The definition is governed by legislation enacted by Congress. In accordance with Congress's mandate in the Motor Vehicle and Schoolbus Safety Admendment of 1974, NHTSA has issued safety standards for all new school buses. In the Act, Congress mandated that the safety standards apply to all school buses that are designed to carry more than 10 passengers to ensure that all vehicles likely to be significantly used for student transportation would be subject to comprehensive safety standards.

The East Liverpool City Schools can purchase new 15-passenger vans, conforming to our standards, for use in transporting its pupils to school-related events. However, under the Act and our safety standards, a dealer selling h new 15-passenger van to a school district for the purpose of carrying children to and from school or on school-related trips must ensure that the vehicle conforms to all of our school bus safety standards.

Our schoolbus safety standards apply only to the manufacture and sale of new schoolbuses and do not regulate issues of vehicle operation such as driver training or qualifications. The authority to govern the operation of vehicles rests with the State. NHTSA has issued guidelines to the States to assist them in setting up their own highway safety programs. Ohio's decision to require all drivers of school buses to have special training or a special license is consistent with the recommendations we have issued on pupil transportation safety. Those recommendations are found in Highway Safety Program Standard No. 17, a copy of which is enclosed for your information. I want to emphasize that the States are not required to follow our guidelines and can modify them to meet their pupil transportation needs.

Sincerely,

Diane K. Steed

Enclosure

Ms. Diane Steed, Administrator National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 400 7th Street, SW Room 520 Washington, D. C. 20590

Dear Ms. Steed:

Enclosed is a copy of a letter I received from Mr. Thomas Ash, regarding the rationale for defining a school "bus" as a passenger vehicle accommodating more than nine people.

The East Liverpool School District, East Liverpool. Ohio, has pointed out that the use of a fifteen passenger van would be more practical and economical.

Please review Mr. Ash's letter and respond to me as soon as possible.

Sincerely Yours,

DOUGLAS APPLEGATE Member of Congress

DA/wt Enclosure

October 10, 1986

The Honorable Douglas Applegate United States House of Representatives 2464 Rayburn House Office Building Washington. D. C. 20515

Dear Congressman Applegate:

I appreciate very much your prompt response to my inquiry regarding National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rules and regulations regarding school buses. Perhaps it would be useful if I explained in more detail my inquiry.

For some time now, the East Liverpool Board of Education has expressed a desire to carry more than nine passengers in vans. particularly for field trips or athletic contests away from town. This request is prompted primarily by economic considerations, since the driver of a van with nine or fewer passengers need not possess school bus driver endorsements. This is meant that our regular certificated staff members and advisors can operate these vehicles.

However, we have noted that fifteen-passenger vans are also available and seem comparable, and perhaps even superior, to the construction of the nine-passenger vans which are permitted. As we research this issue, we found immediately that the definition of a school bus, under Ohio law, is restricted to vehicles which transport more than nine student passengers, not including the driver. We immediately began exploring the rationale behind this restriction since, again, it seemed to us that a fifteen-passenger van could be used equally as well as the smaller van. We believed that the regulations as adopted by the State of Ohio did not reflect the technology and design of passenger vans from the major automobile manufacturers.

As we continued our research. we found that the state regulations reflected the Ohio Revised Code. However. it was not possible to contact state legislators regarding this matter since existing Ohio law reflects directly the rules and regulations of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Therefore, there is little hope of effecting any change on the state level until the existing federal regulation can be changed.

Naturally, I am not suggesting that the NHTSA rule be changed without some additional study. There very well could be some rationale behind the existing restriction that requires that vehicles transporting more than nine students be classified as school buses.

My reason for contacting your office was to enlist your assistance in gaining such an explanation from the NHTSA. I hope that this explanation clarifies my request regarding this matter. and I am deeply appreciative of your efforts on our behalf.

With best regards, I am,

Very truly yours,

Thomas P. Ash Superintendent of Schools

TPA:mle

cc: Charles R. Thomas, Jr.