New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 13 - LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY
Chapter 20 - ENFORCEMENT SERVICE
Subchapter 50B - BODY STANDARDS FOR SCHOOL BUSES
Section 13:20-50B.12 - Doors, service
Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 6, March 18, 2024
(a) The service door is the door intended to be used by passengers to enter and exit the school bus. The service door shall be under the control of the driver and shall be designed so as to afford easy release and prevent accidental opening. When a hand lever is used, no parts of the lever shall come together so as to cause injury.
(b) The service door shall be located on the right side of the school bus opposite the driver and within the direct view of the driver.
(c) The service door on all school buses shall have a minimum horizontal opening of 24 inches and a minimum vertical opening of 68 inches.
(d) The service door shall be a split-type, sedan-type, or jackknife-type. A split-type door includes any sectioned door that divides and opens inward or outward. If one section of a split-type door opens inward and the other section opens outward, the front section shall open outward.
(e) The glass portion of the door panels shall be approved safety glass. The bottom of each lower glass panel shall not be more than 10 inches from the top surface of the bottom step. The top of the upper glass panel shall not be more than three inches from the top of the door.
(f) The vertical closing edges on a split-type door shall be equipped with a flexible material to protect against injury.
(g) A power-operated door shall be equipped with an emergency manual override to permit the operation of the door by the driver when there is a loss of power. The emergency manual override shall be placed inside the school bus above or to the immediate left or right of the service door and shall be clearly labeled.
(h) There shall be no door to the left of the driver on a Type B, C or D school bus, except as otherwise provided for a Type B school bus constructed on a cutaway chassis. A Type A school bus and a Type B school bus constructed on a cutaway chassis may conform to the manufacturer's specifications for the driver's entrance door.
(i) All service doors shall be equipped with padding at the top edge of each door opening. The padding shall be covered with fire block material and be at least three inches wide and one inch thick and shall extend the full width of the door opening.
(j) When a school bus is equipped with air brakes, air-operated doors, or other air-operated assemblies, the school bus shall be equipped with an additional air tank(s) for the operation of those assemblies. Such tanks shall be equipped with pressure protection valves.
(k) Service door trim may be National School Bus Yellow or black in color.
(l) Unless otherwise provided in this chapter, for school buses with a June 1993 through December 2005 chassis manufacture date, the entrance door on Types B, C, and D buses shall have a minimum horizontal opening of 24 inches and a minimum vertical opening of 68 inches. The entrance door on a Type A bus shall have a minimum opening of 1,200 square inches.
