Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
(a) Farm Labor Vehicle Passenger Seats.
Seating accommodations for each passenger shall provide a space with a width of
at least 15 inches. Farm labor vehicle seat frames and backs shall be rigidly
constructed and maintained to ensure structural safety and resistance to
displacement of any component in the event of an accident. For the sole purpose
of establishing passenger capacity, weight per passenger and driver shall be
calculated at 150 pounds.
(1) Originally
installed passenger seating, seat frame assemblies, and mounting hardware
installed either forward facing, rear facing, or side facing, or any
combination thereof, pursuant to FMVSS 571.207, shall be deemed in compliance
with Section
31406 of the
Vehicle Code.
(2) Passenger seat
retrofitting in a farm labor vehicle must be certified to be in compliance with
FMVSS 571.207 by, and shall be performed by, either an Original Equipment
Manufacturer (OEM) or First Stage Manufacturer; or an Intermediate Stage
Manufacturer (ISM) (as defined in Title 49 CFR Part 567); or a Final Stage
Manufacturer (FSM) (as defined in Title 49 CFR Part 567).
(3) Interchangeable OEM seating assembly
mountings and hardware and the OEM specific structurally installed hardware
receiver mountings shall not be altered or modified in any manner to fit any
seats or seating assemblies except as provided in (a)(2).
(4) As used in this section the term
"modification" does not include the re-upholstering of any OEM installed or
constructed seat.
(5) Buses
manufactured in compliance with FMVSS 222 shall be deemed in compliance with
this section.
(b)
Seatbelt Installation. Seatbelts required by this section shall conform to the
specifications set forth in Section 571.209 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal
Regulations, and shall be anchored to the vehicle in a manner that conforms to
the specifications of Section 571.210 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal
Regulations.
(1) Each passenger shall be
provided with a separate seatbelt assembly. Passengers may not share a
seatbelt. The seatbelt shall bear across the pelvis of the passenger and pull
rearward and downward with respect to the passenger.
(A) The belts shall not be mounted such that
the anchorage points are located forward of the seatbelt buckle with respect to
the seat facing position when secured. Anchorage points shall be spaced so that
the seatbelt forms a "U" shaped loop when in use. In no case may both ends of
the same seatbelt assembly be fastened or connected to the same securement
point. This would not prohibit two separate seating position seatbelt assembly
anchorage points from being fastened or connected to the same securement
point.
(B) Each seating position
with the aftermarket seatbelt assembly, in a farm labor vehicle and mounted to
the floor or bed area, shall ensure each position's seatbelt strap length is
equal in length measured from the floor or bed area to the top of the seat
cushion.
(C) Seatbelt anchorage
points shall not be mounted in a Type 2 bus to a interior wheel well raised,
formed area, or to a entry step area, or at a 90 degree angle on a step kick
plate, or to any structural body supports unless those anchorage points conform
to the requirements contained in FMVSS 571.210.
(2) Belts shall be sufficiently adjustable to
ensure they fasten securely and fit snugly against the passenger.
(3) Seatbelts shall be manufactured by a
manufacturer registered with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
and specifically intended for automotive safety belt applications, and shall
not be improvised.
(4) Seatbelt
webbing shall be sewn to attaching plates or threaded through slots in the
plates. Seatbelts shall not be secured by bolts piercing or extending through
the webbing. Seatbelt threading and stitching shall be in compliance with the
requirements of FMVSS 571.209.
(5)
New or used seatbelts may be installed provided they are in good condition,
without excessive wear or damage, and are installed properly. Webbing material
with cuts on the edges, fraying, or which display evidence of impact stretching
or other damage, other than stains or other cosmetic damage, shall be deemed
not to be in "good condition."
(6)
New seatbelts shall be installed according to the installation instructions
furnished by the manufacturer.
(A) For
vehicles originally designed to transport passengers, seatbelts shall be
installed in a manner equivalent to the original factory
configuration.
(B) Notwithstanding
(b)(9), buses, as defined in 233(a) of the Vehicle Code, not originally
equipped with seat belts which are now designed, used, or maintained as farm
labor vehicles, shall have the seatbelts mounted to the vehicle's floor or bed
with bolts, lock washers, nuts and washers or reinforcement plates.
(i) Washer or reinforcement plate sizes shall
be adjusted as necessary to prevent significant deflection of the floor or
other attachment points when the belt is pulled firmly with ordinary human
strength.
(7)
At a minimum, seatbelt securement bolts shall be
7/16 inch fine
thread or 1/2 inch coarse thread, or metric equivalent, unless otherwise
specified by the manufacturer. Use of sheet metal screws is not
acceptable.
(8) Seatbelts attached
to the floor or bed shall be installed with the bolts mounted vertically.
Mounting bolts shall have a minimum manufactured grade 5 SAE Standard, or
equivalent rating. The seatbelt mounting hardware bolts, protruding through the
floor or bed of the farm labor vehicle, shall be secured with either
reinforcement plates or flat washers and a lock washer with the appropriate
threaded and sized nut, or reinforcement plates or flat washers and the
appropriate threaded and sized self locking nut. Reinforcement plates shall be
at least 2 inches by 2 inches square, flat washers shall be at least 2- 1/4
inches diameter. Both shall be at least
1/16 inch thick
and shall not have any sharp edges.
(9) Seatbelts shall not be secured to
passenger seats unless the entire seat, seatbelt and seatbelt anchorage
assembly is manufactured in conformance with FMVSS requirements. Such seats
shall be secured to the floor in conformance with the manufacturer's
instructions. Original mounting holes in seat frames shall not be enlarged to
accept larger bolts.
(10) Seatbelts
shall not be secured to an existing passenger seat unless the seat was
originally installed by the OEM manufacturer or pursuant to (a)(2) and the seat
assembly is in compliance with FMVSS 571.207, 571.209, and
571.210.
(c) Maintenance
of Seatbelts and Anchorages. The operator of a farm labor vehicle shall
maintain all seatbelt assemblies and seatbelt assembly anchorages required
under this section in good working order for the use of the driver and all
passengers.
(d) Operation. Except
as provided in 31405 Vehicle Code, no person may operate a farm labor vehicle
on a highway unless that person and all passengers are properly restrained by
seatbelt assemblies that conform to this section. Regardless of the passenger
capacity calculated pursuant to subsection (a) and indicated on the inspection
approval certificate issued pursuant to Section
1231 and on the farm labor vehicle
notice pursuant to Section
1256(d)(2), no
more passengers shall be transported than the number of properly functioning
seatbelts available for use by the driver and passengers.
(e) Derating of Passenger Capacity. Except as
provided in subsection (d), passenger capacity shall be determined by the
number of seating positions, not by the number of seatbelts. A farm labor
vehicle presented for inspection with fewer seatbelts than passenger seating
positions shall not be certified by the department until seating positions are
removed or seatbelts added to provide a seatbelt for each installed seating
position. The department shall not reduce the designated passenger capacity
indicated on the inspection approval certificate to any number less than the
actual number of seating positions to compensate for missing or defective
seatbelts.
1. New
section filed 7-3-2001; operative 8-2-2001 (Register 2001, No.
27).
2. Amendment of section and NOTE filed 7-30-2012; operative
8-29-2012 (Register 2012, No. 31).
Note: Authority cited: Sections 31401, 31401.5 and 31405,
Vehicle Code. Reference: Sections 27315, 31401, 31401.5, 31405 and 31406,
Vehicle Code.
