Interpretation ID: aiam4029
House of Representatives
Washington
DC 20515;
Dear Mr. Hall: Thank you for your letter to Administrator Steed on behalf of you constituent, Mr. C. Daniel Raisch, Superintendent of the Oakwood City School District, regarding the school bus regulations issued by this agency. Your letter has been referred to my office for reply.; Superintendent Raisch is concerned with the manner in which ou regulations are applied to school vans that carry 10 or more passengers. He believes that only 10 persons are allowed to be transported in a van, and requests that this number be increased to 12. You inquired into a waiver from this agency that would permit the Oakwood City School District to transport more than 10 school children in a school van.; I appreciate this opportunity to clarify our regulations for schoo buses. To begin, I would like to emphasize that Federal law does not prohibit schools from carrying more than 10 passengers in a school van. Federal law does, however, affect the sale of buses to schools. Our regulations would permit the sale of new 12-passenger vans to the Oakwood City School District if the seller can ensure that the van meets all applicable motor vehicle safety standards, including the safety standards we issued in 1977 for school buses.; Some background information on this subject may be helpful. Our agenc has the authority, under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, to issue motor vehicle safety standards for new motor vehicles, including school buses. In 1974, Congress expressly amended the Vehicle Safety Act to direct this agency to issue motor vehicle safety standards on various aspects of school bus performance, such as seating systems, fuel systems, windows and windshields, and emergency exits. The standards we issued became effective April 1, 1977, and apply to each school bus manufactured after that date.; The Vehicle Safety Act requires any person selling a new 'school bus to ensure that the vehicle complies with our school bus safety standards. Under our regulations, a new vehicle designed for carrying 11 or more persons (including the driver) is considered to be a 'bus,' and is considered to be a 'school bus' if sold for school-related purposes. 49 C.F.R. 571.3(b). Thus new 12- passenger vans sold to the Oakwood City School District are included in our definition of a 'school bus,' and may be sold to the school district if they meet our school bus safety standards. If any new vehicle does not meet those standards, the seller may be required to recall the vehicle and to pay civil penalties.; Superintendent Raisch suggested that NHTSA grant a waiver permittin manufacturers to sell 12-passenger vans as school buses when those vans do not comply with the school bus safety standards. While Section 123 of the Vehicle Safety Act authorizes NHTSA to issue temporary exemptions of motor vehicles from our vehicle safety standards, our agency has no general waiver authority. Under S123, our authority to grant exemptions is limited to certain very specific conditions involving a limited number of vehicles. Therefore, NHTSA has no authority to provide the type of relief your constituent requests.; Mr. Raisch may also be suggesting that we change our definition of 'school bus' to permit the sale of new 12-passenger vans as school buses when those vans do not meet our school bus safety standards. At this time, we have no reason to believe that such a change would be in the interest of school bus safety. Our safety standards for school buses were developed to specify comprehensive requirements for school buses that would reduce the number of school bus fatalities and the severity of injuries. Amending our definition of a 'school bus' along the lines suggested by Mr. Raisch would restrict the applicability of our school bus safety standards. The safety record of school buses since the issuance of our school bus safety standards in April 1977 has been remarkable, and we believe that school vans carrying 10 or more passengers should continue to afford the high levels of passenger protection currently required for school buses.; I hope this information is helpful. Please feel free to contact thi agency if you have any further questions.; Sincerely, Erika Z. Jones, Chief Counsel