Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Bus Emergency Exits and Window Retention and Release

In this final rule, which was preceded by a notice of proposed rulemaking, NHTSA is making several housekeeping amendments to the Federal motor vehicle safety standard for bus emergency exits. First, based on a proposal made in response to a petition for rulemaking from the School Bus Manufacturers Technical Council (SBMTC), NHTSA amends the standard to specify that the exterior release (the exterior handle) for school bus rear emergency exit doors may be located opposite the door hinges, rather than located in the middle of the door. Second, this final rule also clarifies the standard as to the number of force applications that are required to open a window or roof emergency exit. Third, in response to a comment on the proposed rule, this document makes a technical correction by removing a reference to a no-longer existent figure. These amendments correct or clarify the requirements of the standard. We believe most, if not all, school buses are currently designed to meet the corrected or clarified requirements.