Interpretation ID: aiam2746
Thomas Built Buses
1408 Courtesy Road
P.O. Box 2450
High Point
NC 27261;
Dear Mr. Tydings: This responds to your December 8, 1977, letter asking for a interpretation of the term 'passenger compartment' as used by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in Standard No. 217, *Bus Window Retention and Release*.; Standard No. 217 requires that a school bus side emergency door b located in the rear half of the bus passenger compartment. The NHTSA interprets the term 'passenger compartment' to mean the area from the windshield to the back of the bus.; In a companion question, you ask whether it would be permissible for small portion of a side emergency door, installed pursuant to S5.2.3.1(b), to fall within the front half of a bus as long as most of the door is within the required rear half of the passenger compartment. The answer to your question is no. The emergency door must be totally located within the rear half of the passenger compartment.; Sincerely, Joseph J. Levin, Jr., Chief Counsel