Church bus and school bus safety: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 10:18, 4 December 2004

Revision as of 10:25, 4 December 2004

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SUMMARY: Even today, since the maximum rated-seating capacity for many school buses envisions very small passengers (with a 13" or less average rump), '''the practical and legal responsibility for not overloading buses unsafely lies with those operating the bus'''.

====Built-in safety standards may be compromised by later maintenance====

In one of those tragedies andthe ironies of history, the chassis of the fatal bus was built by Ford Motor Company '''one week''' before the important [[April 1]], [[1977]] Federal safety standards (FMVSS) for [[school bus]]es would have applied to it. Application of these would have made the bus safer in many important ways.

However, one source (an experienced school bus engineer and industry professional under a pledge of confidentiality) who was directly involved in the litigation determined that ''an aftermarket leaf spring had been installed sometime after Ford and Superior completed the bus. This object penetrated the tank.'' It was his opinion that, even if the bus had had the fuel tank cage Ford installed after April 1, 1977, this non-OEM part would probably have missed the cage structure and penetrated the tank anyway.