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Tuesday,
July 29, 2002
Contact: Tim Hurd
Telephone: 202-366-9550
NHTSA 34-03
NHTSA
Creates New School Bus Category For Multifunction Transportation Needs
The
U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) today defined a new subcategory of school buses for use
in transporting children in trips other than to and from school.
NHTSA's
new subcategory, the "multifunction school activity bus" (MFSAB) is
defined as a vehicle that is sold for purposes that do not include
transportation between home and school for students from kindergarten through
Grade 12. Accordingly, these multifunction buses will be exempt from
requirements for traffic control equipment requirements when the rule takes
effect in 30 days.
This
new class of vehicles should serve as a safe choice for companies and
institutions that have a need to transport groups of people. A particular safety
benefit exists for transporting 12 to 15 passengers, since school buses have a
better safety record than 15- passenger vans for this purpose.
"This
modification allows institutions to take advantage of the safety benefits
associated with school buses, which are by far the safest means of transporting
children," said Jeffrey W. Runge, M.D., NHTSA administrator.
Under
current federal law, dealers cannot sell a vehicle for the purpose of
transporting school-age students to or from school or related events unless it
meets all federal motor vehicle safety standards for school buses.
Among those requirements are ones requiring all school buses to be
equipped with devices designed to control traffic, including flashing lights and
stop arms.
The
new multi-function buses will be exempt from the traffic control requirements
since they are not intended to be used for picking up or discharging students on
public roadways. While the new multi-function buses are exempt from the traffic
control requirements, they are required to meet all other school bus safety
standards.
NHTSA
noted that in June 1999 the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
recommended that the 50 states and the District of Columbia require that all
vehicles carrying more than 10 passengers (buses) and transporting children to
and from school and school related activities, including, but not limited to,
Head Start programs and day care centers, meet the school bus structural
standards and enact regulatory measures to enforce compliance with the revised
statutes.
The
complete final rule is available at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/rulings.
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