NHTSA Warns Dealers About the Sale of 15-Passenger Vans For School Use

NHTSA Warns Dealers About the Sale of 15-Passenger Vans For School Use

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reminds dealers that under federal regulations it is illegal to sell or lease a new van with a capacity of 11 persons or more that will be used primarily to transport students to and from school or school-related events if the van or bus does not meet stringent school bus safety regulations. Vans that meet highway safety standards do not comply with school bus regulations, which require that school buses have stop arms, flashing lamps, enhanced seating, crashworthiness protection, mirrors, emergency exits and other safety features over and above those of other passenger vehicles.

The agency warns dealers that, the state law in this area has no bearing on a dealerês duty to comply with federal requirements applicable to the sale and lease of new school buses. A dealer selling or leasing a new bus for school use that does not meet the school bus standards would be subject to a civil penalty of up to $1,100 per violation, and could be enjoined from further violations, regardless of what state law may allow. The law applies to private schools as well as public schools.

However, federal school bus regulations do not apply to the transportation of college students, adult education participants, post-high school vocational students, transportation to religious instruction, athletic teams that have no connection with a school, or to children in custodial facilities such as day care centers.

These safety requirements were enacted after studies in 1999 showed that nine people (eight of them children) were killed and 36 injured in crashes in four accidents involving nonconforming buses. Although the number of school bus passenger fatalities nationwide averages fewer than 10 each year out of approximately 10 billion student trips, there has been a renewed interest is school bus safety because of the higher rate of rollover accidents in 15-passenger vans.

NHTSA has issued several consumer advisories on the rollover risks of fully loaded 15-passenger vans following research that showed the risk of rollover in 15-passenger vans increases dramatically as the number of occupants increases from fewer than five to more than ten. In fact, 15-passenger vans with 10 or more occupants had a rollover rate in single vehicle crashes that is nearly three times the rate of those that were lightly loaded.

NHTSA has developed a flyer for purchasers of 15-passenger vans in the groups not covered by the law to help reduce the risk of rollover crashes (available on the web at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/Hot/15PassVans/index.htm).

Among the recommendations are that 15-passenger vans should be operated by trained, experienced drivers, and all occupants should wear seat belts at all times. Eighty percent of those who died in 15-passenger van rollovers nationwide in the year 2000 were not buckled up. In fatal, single-vehicle rollovers involving 15-passenger vans over the past decade, 92 percent of belted occupants survived.

NHTSA Administrator Jeffrey Runge said at a press conference this summer that there is nothing inherently unsafe about 15-passenger vans. The main causes of tragic crashes involving high school and college athletic teams and religious groups over the past few years were due to inexperienced drivers who did not understand the handling characteristics of vans, and passengers who refused to buckle up.