Interpretation ID: aiam3883
Department of Motor Vehicles
State of Connecticut
State Street
Wethersfield
CT 06109;
Dear Mr. O'Connell: This responds to your October 15, 1984 letter to the National Highwa Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) asking about an emergency door which is installed on a school bus in addition to the emergency exits required by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 217, *Bus Window Retention and Release*.; Your first question asked whether this additional emergency exit i required to comply with Standard No. 217. In particular, you asked about the labeling requirements. FMVSS No. 217 requires that additional exits on school buses which are intended as emergency exits must comply with the emergency exit requirements applicable to exits in buses other than school buses. These additional emergency exits would be required to be labeled in accordance with the requirements for exits in non-school buses.; Your second question asked whether the door may be sealed shut. Yo also asked whether sealing the door would have any effect on the compliance of the bus with FMVSS No. 221, *School Bus Body Joint Strength*.; The answer to this question depends on who seals the door, and whe this work is performed. As you probably know, NHTSA does not have the authority to prohibit an owner, such as a school, from modifying its own vehicle. A school may modify its own vehicle in any manner without assuring that the vehicle remains in compliance with motor vehicle safety standards. Of course, it may be more difficult to insure a vehicle which does not conform to the safety standards. The school can also expose itself to increased liability in the event that one of their noncomplying vehicles is involved in an accident.; After the vehicle is sold to its first purchaser, manufacturers dealers, distributors or repair businesses are prohibited from knowingly rendering inoperative any device or element of design installed on or in a vehicle in compliance with an applicable motor vehicle safety standard. The additional door could be sealed by a manufacturer or repair-type business as long as there were sufficient other emergency exits available on the vehicle so that it remains in compliance with the requirements of Standard No. 217. Moreover, if the door were sealed after the vehicle's first sale, FMVSS No. 221 would not be a factor. This is because doors are not considered 'body panel joints' subject to the requirements of the standard. Since the additional door was not regulated by Standard No. 221, there would be no rendering inoperative of the compliance of the door with that standard.; If you decide to seal the emergency exit shut, we would encourage yo to remove the labels to avoid possible confusion in the event of an accident.; If the door was made inoperable prior to the vehicle's first sale FMVSS No. 221 would be a factor. This is because the person sealing the door is an 'alterer,' and must attach a label indicating compliance of the altered vehicle with the standards. When the door is sealed, it becomes part of the bus wall structure. As such, any joints on the door that would fall within the ambit of Standard No. 221 would be required to comply with that standard. The alterer would also be required to remove any labels and operating instructions from the exit which was sealed, since labels indicating that a door can be used as an emergency exit when in fact the door is inoperative would not conform to Standard No. 217.; Sincerely, Frank Berndt, Chief Counsel