maximum weight limit on school bus driver seat

MAXIMUM WEIGHT LIMIT ON SCHOOL BUS DRIVER SEAT DRIVERS

Large school buses have a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of up to about 36,000 pounds. Small school buses are typically about 20 feet long. The biggest school buses are about 40 feet long. Small school buses - Type A models, which are built on van chassis - typically have a capacity in the range of 12 to 32 passenger seats. These capacities are calculated with three students per seat. How many seats are on a bus? The biggest school buses - the flat-front, transit-style models that are known as Type Ds - can carry up to 90 passengers.Ĭonventional school buses - with a hood in front and the entrance door behind the front wheels, aka Type C models - typically have a capacity of about 80 passengers. Many other states have considered school bus seat belt legislation (sometimes year after year) but haven’t passed it.

Mark Rosekind stating at an industry conference in November 2015 that ' every child on every school bus should have a three-point seat belt.” However, as of this writing, the agency has not proposed to make that a mandate. However, the agency took up the topic again in 2015, culminating with then-Administrator Dr. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has long declined to mandate seat belts on large school buses. Some school districts in states that don’t require three-point belts in school buses have voluntarily implemented the restraints in their fleets.įederally, three-point belts are required only on small school buses - more precisely, those with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less, which account for a small proportion of the school bus market.

Since those two states’ mandates remain unfunded, they have not been enforced. Texas and Louisiana have passed school bus seat belt bills, but both were contingent on funding being allocated to pay for the restraints. Three other states require lap belts on school buses: Florida, New Jersey and New York. Compartmentalization is particularly effective in frontal and rear impacts when students are seated properly, but federal safety authorities have found that three-point restraints can enhance protection for school bus passengers in severe side-impact and rollover crashes.Ĭalifornia is currently the only state with an effective requirement for three-point belts on school buses. This has been one of the key factors in the yellow bus’ record as the safest form of transportation for students. Since 1977, school buses have been required to have a passive form of occupant protection called compartmentalization - a closely spaced, energy-absorbing padded seating design. See the school bus stop requirements for specific states here. Vehicles traveling in the opposite also have to stop in some cases, depending on the type of roadway (for example, whether there is a raised median in the middle of the street). Generally, when a school bus is stopped to pick up students, with its red lights flashing and its stop arm extended, vehicles traveling in the same direction have to stop for the bus. School bus stop laws vary slightly by state.

MAXIMUM WEIGHT LIMIT ON SCHOOL BUS DRIVER SEAT DRIVERS

The agreed-on shade of yellow was dubbed “National School Bus Chrome.” It’s now known as “National School Bus Glossy Yellow.” Yellow is a highly visible color that helps other drivers see school buses, which is particularly important when they are stopped to pick up or drop off passengers. Yellow was adopted as the standard color for school buses in 1939 at a national conference of school transportation representatives. Have another question? Email us at are school buses yellow? What does the McKinney-Vento Act mean in respect to school transportation? What are some strategies for schools managing challenging behaviors on a special-needs bus? Why do school buses have black ridges along the side? How many school buses are there in the U.S.? How many axles and wheels does a school bus have? What is the passenger capacity of a school bus?

Maximum weight limit on school bus driver seat