NHTSA’s school bus regulations require that if a new bus is sold and is likely to be used significantly to transport students to preprimary, primary, or secondary schools, a “school bus” must be sold.

State law should be consulted for determining use requirements. Each state has the authority to determine how school children must be transported. NHTSA: Federal law regulates the manufacture and sale of new vehicles, but does not regulate vehicle use. Q: May 15-passenger vans be used to transport students to or from school or school-related events? A school in violation of this requirement may be subject to substantial civil penalties under the Safety Act. NHTSA: The Safety Act (SAFETEA-LU) prohibits a school or school system from purchasing or leasing a new 15-passenger van if it will be used significantly by or on behalf of the school or school system to transport preprimary, primary, or secondary school students to or from school or related events, unless the van complies with FMVSSs prescribed for school buses or MFSABs (multi-function school activity buses).

In response to an SRN inquiry, NHTSA recently clarified its regulatory role with regard to the use of 15-passenger vans by providing the following questions it is commonly asked and their answers: Q: May schools purchase or lease new 15-passenger vans? Since September 1, 2011, ESC has been a required standard feature on these vehicles (as well as all passenger cars, trucks, and small buses), per FMVSS 126. NHTSA has also made newer 15-passenger vans much safer by requiring that they be equipped with electronic stability control (ESC) technology, which greatly reduces the likelihood of a rollover. (To find a survey by state of the vehicles allowed for transporting students, go here.) However, school use of these vans is prohibited by law in most states, and of the few states that do allow their use, many limit that use to taking students between schools or to/from activities. Although these regulations stymie the ability of schools to use 15-passenger vans for student transportation, they cannot entirely prohibit it, as described in the NHTSA Q&A later in this article. NHTSA’s basic safety messages for using these vans are paraphrased at the bottom of this page.īeyond issuing warnings, NHTSA regulates the ability of schools to buy 15-passenger vans for the regular transportation of children, most recently through the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). Therefore, NHTSA and other organizations have issued warnings to the public regarding the use of these vehicles. While they may seem to be a practical transportation solution, full-size vans, especially 15-passenger vans, are known to be less safe than most other vehicles, mainly due to their propensity to roll over. But this highlights the fact that full-size vans, while rarely used for routes to and from school, are still used to transport groups of school-aged children for other purposes. Happily, seat belts prevented a far worse outcome. “These children-most or all-were wearing seat belts.” “It appears seat belts saved a lot of lives today,” one state trooper told the a regional news affiliate while on-site at the crash. Although the crash was serious, only one of the 13 passengers was seriously injured. On August 10, a full-size, 2010 GMC Savana van carrying school-aged children on a field trip in New Hampshire left the highway and struck a tree head on.

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