Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
Provisions of this section shall apply to all school buses
transporting pupils in wheelchairs.
(a) Construction of Body--Basic Provisions.
Notwithstanding other provisions of this subchapter, a school bus body that is
constructed, altered, or modified for the purpose of installing and operating
equipment approved for loading, unloading, and transporting physically
handicapped pupils and pupils in wheelchairs shall comply with this section and
Section 1231. This requirement applies
only to those portions of a school bus used to transport pupils in wheelchairs.
Pupils not seated in wheelchairs shall be provided aisles, passageways, and
exits that conform to all other provisions of law.
(b) Inspection. Each school bus that has been
certified pursuant to Vehicle Code Section 2807, and is subsequently modified
to conform to the provisions of this section, shall not transport pupils until
all changes have been inspected and approved by an authorized employee of the
department. The vehicle owner shall provide a wheelchair to be used for testing
the performance of vehicle equipment.
(c) Entrance Doors. Entrance doors used by
pupils in wheelchairs shall be installed and maintained as follows:
(1) Type 1 school buses equipped with
entrance doors that conform with Section
1281 of this subchapter may also
be equipped with an additional entrance door which conforms to the provisions
of this section. Each door shall be installed by the body manufacturer or with
his written approval and statement, or the written statement of an approved
independent engineering testing firm, that the installation of the door will
not adversely affect the structural integrity of the vehicle.
(2) All such doors shall afford easy manual
operation from inside or outside the vehicle in case of emergency and shall be
protected from accidental opening, except that a means of opening the door from
the inside is not required on doors with wheelchair loading devices obstructing
the passageway.
(3) Instructions
for the manual operation of the door and wheelchair loading device from outside
the vehicle shall be displayed in clear view on the exterior of the vehicle at
the exit.
(4) The door shall
provide an opening not less than 24 in. wide. There shall be a soft head
cushion at least 1/2 in. thick on the inside of the bus at the lower edge of
the top of the door opening.
(d) Wheelchair Emergency Exits. School buses
transporting pupils in wheelchairs shall have at least two floor-level doors.
One door shall be used for the regular loading and unloading of wheelchairs as
described in subsection (c). The additional floor-level door shall be an
emergency door for the evacuation of pupils in wheelchairs. The additional door
shall be equipped and installed at one of the locations specified in Section
1282 for emergency exits. The door
shall provide an unobstructed opening not less than 24 in. wide. If a pupil's
physical condition prevents that pupil from being readily evacuated through a
door 24 in. wide, the door shall be as wide as necessary to permit rapid
evacuation of that pupil during an emergency. Type 1 school buses transporting
pupils in both wheelchairs and seats shall comply with the requirements of 1282
and 1284 of this subchapter.
(1) Alternate
Emergency Exit. Type 2 school buses transporting pupils in wheelchairs and
regularly seated pupils may meet the requirement for a left side emergency exit
with two emergency windows on the left side providing:
(A) The required rear emergency door is
inoperable from the interior due to a retracted wheelchair loading
device.
(B) The vehicle is equipped
with a right side floor-level emergency door located to the rear of the
driver's seat.
(C) The alternate
exit consists of not more than two windows each having a minimum opening
dimension of 12 in. and a combined total area of at least 564 in. Such exits
need be identified and operable only from the bus interior.
(2) Aisles. Aisles on school buses
transporting wheelchairs shall be provided as follows:
(A) An emergency passageway with a width of
not less than 9 in. shall provide access to each wheelchair station from both
the door used to load and unload the wheelchairs and to the floor level
emergency exit door required by this section. A wheelwell will not be
considered an obstruction for the purposes of this subsection.
(B) Notwithstanding subsection (A), an aisle
shall be provided as wide as necessary to effect a rapid evacuation of any
wheelchair containing a pupil during an emergency and shall provide access to
each wheelchair from both the door used to load and unload the wheelchairs and
to the floor level emergency exit door required by this section. An aisle is
not considered obstructed if the only obstruction is another wheelchair that
can be readily removed.
(e) Wheelchair Loading Devices. Loading
devices for the ingress and egress of pupils in wheelchairs shall be installed,
maintained, and operated as follows:
(1) Any
installation of a wheelchair loading device that requires modification of the
vehicle chassis shall be performed by the chassis manufacturer or with the
manufacturer's written approval and statement that the chassis modification
will not adversely affect the structural integrity of the vehicle.
(2) No loading device shall be constructed or
operated in a manner that requires the driver to leave a pupil unattended on
the loading device outside the passenger compartment, nor shall any driver
permit a pupil to be unattended on a loading device outside the passenger
compartment.
(3) Each hoist or
elevator-type loading device shall be constructed with a positive method of
preventing an unbraked wheelchair from rolling off during the lifting
operation.
(4) Any loading device
stored inside the vehicle shall be secured to the vehicle in a manner that will
prevent hazardous movement during normal operation or in the event of an
emergency stop, traffic accident, or vehicle overturn.
(5) Any loading device stored inside the
vehicle shall be equipped with padding capable of minimizing injury-producing
impact forces, and all exposed edges or other hazardous protrusions shall be
padded to within 3 in. of the bus floor.
(6) The travel surface of all loading devices
shall be covered with nonskid material.
(f) Securement of Pupils and Wheelchairs.
Passengers shall be secured to wheelchairs by a restraining belt specified in
subsection (g) while being loaded, unloaded, and transported. Wheelchairs shall
be secured as follows:
(1) Wheelchairs shall
be secured with fasteners of sufficient strength to prevent the chairs from
rotating, prevent the chair wheels from leaving the floor in case of sudden
movement, or support the chairs in the event the vehicle is
overturned.
(2) Fasteners shall
contact the wheelchair on at least three points and shall be spaced to provide
the most effective securement. No fastener shall be attached to any door. No
fastener shall project more than 1 1/2 in. above the floor in the area between
the wheel wells of the vehicle.
(3)
Fasteners shall consist of either two webbed belts described in subsection (A)
or two all-metal devices described in subsection (B), or one each of such
devices, installed in conformance with this subsection.
(A) Webbed safety belts shall meet or exceed
federal specifications for Type 2 pelvic restraint seat belts or be certified
by the manufacturer to meet or exceed assembly strengths of 5,000 lb in loop
fashion or 2,500 lb on each anchorage leg. Certification may be the
manufacturer's specifications listed in catalogs or publications. All new
construction of webbed fasteners and repairs to webbing shall conform with
standards established by the manufacturer of the webbing. Webbed belts attached
directly to the vehicle and securement track used for webbed fastener
attachments shall be secured to the vehicle at not less than two separate
points with bolts, nuts, and lock washers or self-locking nuts. Bolts used
shall provide holding strength equal to or greater than that of two bolts 3/8
in. in diameter and of National Fine Thread SAE grade 5. All fastening of
webbing and securement tracks shall be in accordance with the manufacturer's
specifications provided that no standard established herein may be violated.
Where mounting bolts do not pierce the vehicle frame, subframe, body posts, or
equivalent metal structure, a reinforcement plate or washer not less than
1/16 in. in
thickness and 2 1/2 in. in diameter is required. Smaller diameter washers may
be used to install wheelchair securement track provided a minimum of four
fasteners and four washers are used for each track installation. These washers
shall be not less than 1 1/4 in. in diameter, not less than
1/16 in. in
thickness, and have an appropriate inside diameter. In no event shall interior
paneling constitute anchorage for a point of securement. When not in use,
webbed belts shall be removed or retracted.
(B) All-metal fasteners shall be secured to
the vehicle with bolt nuts and lock washers or self-locking nuts of National
Fine Thread SAE grade 5 or equivalent. Such devices shall have two points of
securement requiring bolts 3/8 in. in diameter or equivalent, or one point of
securement requiring a bolt of 1/2 in. in diameter or equivalent. Where
mounting bolts do not pierce the vehicle frame, subframe, body post, or
equivalent metal structure, a reinforcement plate or washer not less than
1/16 in. in
thickness x 2 1/2 in. in diameter is required. In no event shall interior
paneling constitute anchorage for a point of
securement.
(g)
Equipment of Wheelchairs. Wheelchairs shall be equipped as follows:
(1) Brakes and Restraining Belt. Wheelchairs
shall be equipped with brakes and a restraining belt properly maintained by the
owner of the chair. Electric wheelchairs transported on school buses shall be
capable of being locked in gear when placed in a school bus or shall have an
independent braking system capable of holding the wheelchair in
place.
(2) Batteries. Batteries
used to propel electric wheelchairs transported on school buses shall be both
leak resistant and spill resistant or shall be placed in a leak resistant
container. Batteries shall be secured to the wheelchair frame in such a manner
as to prevent separation in the event of an accident.
1. Amendment
of subsection (g)(2)(B) filed 4-3-80; designated effective 7-1-80 (Register 80,
No. 14).
2. Amendment filed 4-2-81; effective thirtieth day
thereafter (Register 81, No. 14).
3. Amendment of subsection
(f)(3)(A) filed 4-16-86; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 86, No.
16).
Note: Authority cited and Reference: Sections 34501.5 and
34508, Vehicle Code.
