Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
(a) Emergency lighting fixtures. Motor
carriers shall not operate any bus designed to carry 39 passengers or more
including the driver, manufactured on or after July 1, 2020, and described in
Section 5363(1)(b) of the Public Utilities Code, unless the bus is properly
equipped and in compliance with the following requirements:
(1) Buses shall be equipped with emergency
lighting fixtures that will automatically illuminate the interior of the bus in
the event of an impact, collision, or rollover, under all conditions of bus
operation and orientation, including when the bus is stationary.
(2) Emergency lighting fixtures shall be
permanently mounted in locations throughout the interior of the bus in a manner
which does not interfere with passenger ingress, egress, or comfort, including
egress through required emergency exits. The fixtures shall not have sharp
edges or protrusions which may cause injury to passengers or damage to
property.
(A) Interior lamps meeting the
requirements of Section
1217(h) may be
used, in whole or in part, to fulfill this requirement.
(3) Emergency lighting fixtures. which
illuminate automatically as required by subdivision (a)(5), shall remain
illuminated until all passengers, including the driver, have exited or been
evacuated from the interior of the bus.
(4) Light emitted by the emergency lighting
fixtures shall be sufficient to illuminate the entire interior of the bus in a
manner sufficient to facilitate egress of passengers in the event of an
emergency.
(5) Emergency lighting
fixtures shall automatically illuminate when the bus is involved in any
incident in which the bus rolls over, is impacted by any object, or is involved
in any collision, at any angle, when that impact or collision exerts a force of
greater than 5 times the force of gravity on any passenger or the driver, or
exceeds the equivalent of a 10 mile per hour impact of the bus versus any
stationary object.
(6) Emergency
lighting fixtures shall be electrically self-powered, powered by the bus
electrical system, powered by an auxiliary electrical source, or any
combination thereof.
(7) In
addition to automatic illumination requirements, emergency lights may be
illuminated manually by the driver or any person within the driver's
compartment. Notwithstanding manual illumination, if the bus is involved in any
incident outlined in subdivision (a)(5), the lights shall illuminate
automatically and remain illuminated without manual intervention.
(8) Emergency lighting fixtures and their
installation shall meet, and may not be in conflict with, any applicable
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, in effect at the time of the emergency
lighting fixture installation.
(b) Compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards (FMVSS). Every bus described in subdivision (a) shall, at all
times, be maintained in compliance with all FMVSS in effect at the time of
manufacture.
(1) No person shall at any time
disable, render ineffective, or remove any device or element of design required
by any FMVSS applicable at the time of manufacture.
1. New
section filed 12-20-2018; operative 12-20-2018 pursuant to Government Code
section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2018, No. 51).
Note: Authority cited: Sections 2402, 27426, 34500.1 and
34501, Vehicle Code. Reference: Section 27425, Vehicle Code; and Section 5363,
Public Utilities Code.
