Sec. 4401. Schoolbus safety standards
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/bill/116/hr/2/rh/section-4401A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to consider requiring large schoolbuses to be equipped with safety belts for all seating positions, if the Secretary determines that such standards meet the requirements and considerations set forth in subsections
(a)and
(b)of section 30111 of title 49, United States Code. In issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider— the safety benefits of a lap/shoulder belt system (also known as a Type 2 seatbelt assembly); the recommendations of the National Transportation Safety Board on seatbelts in schoolbuses; existing experience, including analysis of student injuries and fatalities compared to States without seat belt laws, and seat belt usage rates, from States that require schoolbuses to be equipped with seatbelts, including Type 2 seatbelt assembly; and the impact of lap/shoulder belt systems on emergency evacuations, with a focus on emergency evacuations involving students below the age of 14, and emergency evacuations necessitated by fire or water submersion; and the impact of lap/shoulder belt systems on the overall availability of schoolbus transportation. If the Secretary determines that a standard described in paragraph
(1)does not meet the requirements and considerations set forth in subsections
(a)and
(b)of section 30111 of title 49, United States Code, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report that describes the reasons for not prescribing such a standard. Any regulation issued based on the notice of proposed rulemaking described in paragraph
(1)shall apply to schoolbuses manufactured more than 3 years after the date on which the regulation takes effect. Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall— prescribe a motor vehicle safety standard under section 30111 of title 49, United States Code, that requires all schoolbuses manufactured after the effective date of such standard to be equipped with an automatic emergency braking system; and as part of such standard, establish performance requirements for automatic emergency braking systems, including operation of such systems. Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall— prescribe a motor vehicle safety standard under section 30111 of title 49, United States Code, that requires all schoolbuses manufactured after the effective date of such standard to be equipped with an electronic stability control system (as such term is defined in section 571.136 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act)); and as part of such standard, establish performance requirements for electronic stability control systems, including operation of such systems. The Secretary shall conduct research and testing to determine the most prevalent causes of schoolbus fires and the best methods to prevent such fires and to mitigate the effect of such fires, both inside and outside the schoolbus. Such research and testing shall consider— fire suppression systems standards, which at a minimum prevent engine fires; firewall standards to prevent gas or flames from entering into the passenger compartment in schoolbuses with engines that extend beyond the firewall; and interior flammability and smoke emissions characteristics standards. The Secretary may issue fire prevention and mitigation standards for schoolbuses, based on the results of the Secretary's research and testing under paragraph (1), if the Secretary determines that such standards meet the requirements and considerations set forth in subsections
(a)and
(b)of section 30111 of title 49, United States Code. In this section: The term automatic emergency braking means a crash avoidance system installed and operational in a vehicle that consists of— a forward warning function— to detect vehicles and objects ahead of the vehicle; and to alert the operator of an impending collision; and a crash-imminent braking function to provide automatic braking when forward-looking sensors of the vehicle indicate that— a crash is imminent; and the operator of the vehicle is not applying the brakes. The term large schoolbus means a schoolbus with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds. The term schoolbus has the meaning given such term in section 30125(a) of title 49, United States Code.