MAXIMUM WEIGHT LIMIT ON SCHOOL BUS DRIVER SEAT LICENSE

13 The driver must have a commercial driver's license and undergo criminal background checks. Retrofit of lap belts or child-restraint anchorage to properly secure the child safety restraint system to the school bus seat is allowed and must be reinforced according to the applicable FMVSS. As of January 2004, vehicles must be equipped to use child restraints. Children weighing 50 pounds or less were required to travel in FMVSS 213–approved child restraints this has since been updated to apply to children under the weight threshold of FMVSS 213 for approved child restraints (currently 65 pounds). All vehicles must be equipped with a communication system for emergencies, first aid kit, fire extinguisher, and seat belt cutter. That is, on July 1, 2007, all Head Start children must be transported in a compliant vehicle, unless a waiver has been granted. Within 5 years, transportation was limited to school buses or “allowable alternate vehicles.” This provision has since been extended to June 30, 2007.

13 In January 2001, the Department of Health and Human Services issued transportation safety requirements for Head Start transportation. The NHTSA studies demonstrated that preschool-aged children were safest when properly transported in child safety restraint systems that meet FMVSSs 213 and 225. Many school systems provide transportation for preschool-aged children. States may prescribe additional regulations that apply to the use of any vehicle used to transport preprimary, primary, and secondary school students. Vehicles, including multipurpose vehicles that carry 11 or more persons that are sold or leased for transporting students to or from school or school-related events, are required to meet the FMVSS requirements applicable to school buses. Small school buses (weighing <10000 pounds) built in accordance with FMVSSs are equipped with lap belts. The long-standing American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendation that seat belts be installed on all new school buses is further discussed later in this statement. Large school buses that carry more than 16 passengers are not required to be equipped with seat belts. 11 There are 35 federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSSs) that apply to school buses. The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 and the upgrades in the School Bus Safety Amendments of 1974 authorize the Department of Transportation to issue minimum standards for new school buses manufactured for sale in the United States.

Motor vehicle crashes were the most frequent injury mechanism. 9 The first emergency department–based study of nonfatal school bus–related injuries found that the number of injuries (17000 annually to children 0–19 years of age) greatly exceeded previously published estimates. 8 However, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that school bus crash data are incomplete and that injuries cannot be reliably estimated. 7 Of those injured, 46% (5980) were school bus occupants, 8% were school bus drivers, 38% were occupants of other vehicles, and fewer than 0.05% each were pedestrians, pedal cyclists, and nonmotorists. Data from the General Estimates System indicate that 13000 persons are injured annually in school bus crashes. Of the 22 child pedestrian fatalities, 82% were struck by the school bus. Of the fatalities, 16% were pedestrians, 9% were school bus passengers, 4% were school bus drivers, 3% were bicyclists, and the rest (68%) were occupants of other vehicles or other nonmotorists. In the year 2001, 141 persons were killed. The Fatality Analysis Reporting System 6 includes fatality data on all school bus–related crashes, not just those during school hours.

Maximum weight limit on school bus driver seat