Interpretation ID: aiam2482
Executive Director
National School Transportation Association
Post Office Box 324
Fairfax
VA 22030;
Dear Mrs. Reynolds: In reply to your letter to Fred Vetter of May 6, 1977, concerning th knee room required for passengers in a small school bus, I think it is essential for your members to understand that the terms 'Type I' and 'Type II' are meaningless in the context of the motor vehicle safety standards. There is a difference in the seat spacing requirements for large buses and small buses, but in deciding which spacing a particular bus must meet, the manufacturers must use the criteria of the standards under 49 CFR Part 571, and not the Type I/Type II distinction.; In dealing with the motor vehicle safety standards applicable to schoo buses, two criteria determine the applicability of various requirements: seating capacity and vehicle weight. The seating capacity of a vehicle determines whether a vehicle is to be considered a school bus. Under the definitions of bus and school bus in 49 CFR S571.3, the critical number of passengers is 10. If a motor vehicle is designed to carry 'more than 10 persons,' it is a bus. If a bus is sold 'for purposes that include carrying students to and from school or related events' it is a school bus. *All* school buses must conform to the applicable requirements of Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 222, *School Bus Passenger Seating and Crash Protection*.; Standard No. 222, however, makes the criterion of weight relevant i determining the spacing between seats. In a bus with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of more than 10,000 pounds, section 5.2 of the standard requires each passenger seat to have either a seat back or a restraining barrier within 20 inches of the 'seating reference point,' a design point that is roughly 5.2 inches forward of the seat back. Measured from the seat back, therefore, all school buses with GVWR's of more than 10,000 pounds must provide 'knee room' of not more than about 25.2 inches. School buses with GVWR's of 10,000 pounds or less do not have to meet the spacing requirements.; Any school buses that your members purchase will therefore have to mee the spacing requirements of Standard No. 222 if they weigh more than 10,000 pounds. This weight corresponds roughly to a bus with a seating capacity of 14-17 persons, so that *most* 'Type I' school buses would have to meet the spacing requirements, and *most* 'Type II' buses would not. Always keet in mind that it is the school bus's weight, not its seating capacity, that determines the applicability of the spacing requirement.; Sincerely, Joseph J. Levin, Jr., Chief Counsel