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  98-28569. School Bus Research Plan  

  • [Federal Register Volume 63, Number 206 (Monday, October 26, 1998)]
    [Proposed Rules]
    [Pages 57089-57091]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 98-28569]
    
    
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    DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
    
    National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
    
    49 CFR Part 571
    
    [Docket Number NHTSA-98-4573]
    
    
    School Bus Research Plan
    
    AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.
    
    ACTION: Request for comments.
    
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    SUMMARY: On August 7, 1998, NHTSA sent to Congress a report titled, 
    ``School Bus Safety: Safe Passage for America's Children.'' The report 
    outlined NHTSA's current and future actions on school bus safety. A 
    comprehensive research plan for the next generation of occupant 
    protection in school buses was announced. This notice seeks comments
    
    [[Page 57090]]
    
    and information pertinent to the execution of that plan. A copy of this 
    report is available on NHTSA's web site at: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/
    people/injury/buses/schbus/schbussafe.html.
        Every year, approximately 440,000 public school buses travel about 
    4.3 billion miles to transport 23.5 million children to and from school 
    and school-related activities. The school bus occupant fatality rate of 
    0.2 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) is much 
    lower than the rates for passenger cars (1.5 per 100 million VMT) or 
    light trucks and vans (1.3 per 100 million VMT). School bus 
    transportation is one of the safest forms of transportation in the 
    United States. On average, nine school bus occupants per year die in 
    school bus crashes. While each of these fatalities is tragic, the 
    numbers of fatalities among school bus occupants are extremely small 
    when compared to those in other types of motor vehicles. For example, 
    in 1997, five passenger occupants in a school bus body-type of vehicle 
    died in a crash. During the same year, 4,811 children between the ages 
    of 5 and 18 died in all other types of motor vehicles.
        This excellent safety record of school buses notwithstanding, NHTSA 
    believes that school transportation should be held to the highest 
    levels of safety, since such transportation involves the Nation's most 
    precious cargo--children who represent our future.
        Even though compartmentalization has proven to be an excellent 
    concept for injury mitigation, the agency has initiated an extensive 
    research program to develop the next generation occupant protection 
    system. The objective of NHTSA's Research Plan is to scientifically 
    determine the real-world effectiveness of current Federal requirements 
    for school bus occupant crash protection, evaluate alternative occupant 
    crash protection systems in controlled laboratory tests that represent 
    the types of real-world school bus crashes, and based on the findings, 
    propose the next generation of occupant protection requirements for 
    school buses. Each system studied must meet all of the following 
    criteria: is likely to reduce the total number of injuries or 
    fatalities associated with school bus crashes, provides protection to 
    the whole range of occupants who are transported in schools buses, is 
    technologically feasible, is reasonable in cost, and does not 
    substantially reduce the occupant capacity of school buses or 
    substantially inhibit emergency evacuation.
    
    DATES: Comments must be received by December 28, 1998.
        All written comments should refer to the docket number and notice 
    number in the heading of this notice and be submitted, preferably 10 
    copies, to: DOT Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
    Transportation, Room PL-01, 400 7th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590. 
    The docket is open to the public from 10:00 am to 5 pm, Monday through 
    Friday.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Linda McCray, Office of Vehicle Safety 
    Research, NRD-11, NHTSA, 400 7th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590 
    (telephone 202-366-6375, Fax: 202-366-7237).
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The primary means of occupant protection for 
    large school buses is a concept known as compartmentalization--strong, 
    well padded, well anchored, high backed, closely spaced seats. Even 
    though compartmentalization has proven to be an excellent concept for 
    injury mitigation, the agency has initiated a research program to 
    develop the next generation of occupant protection for school bus 
    passengers. This comprehensive program will evaluate alternative 
    occupant crash protection systems in controlled laboratory tests that 
    represent the types of real world school bus crashes that produce 
    injuries to passengers. A key component of this program will 
    necessarily be a thorough search for better crash data. Existing state 
    and school systems records will be searched for documentation on school 
    bus crashes involving fatalities/injuries and specific crashes in which 
    lap belts were used. Those crash data will be vital to defining the 
    test conditions that best simulate the most injurious school bus 
    crashes. Alternative systems will be tested and evaluated for their 
    ability to protect the full range of sizes of school bus occupants. The 
    systems tested must not significantly reduce the occupant capacity of 
    the bus or significantly restrict emergency egress. If it is determined 
    that all these criteria can be met, the agency will consider upgrading 
    its occupant protection standards.
    
    School Bus Research Plan
    
        Research will be conducted in three (3) phases: Phase I--Problem 
    Definition, Phase II--Test Procedure Development, and Phase III--
    Testing and Validation.
        Phase I: Problem Definition will consist of analyzing NHTSA's 
    Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), General Estimates System 
    (GES) and National Automotive Sampling System databases for school bus 
    crashes and corresponding injuries, a literature search for existing 
    school bus related research (listed above), identification of safety 
    systems that are currently available or will be in near term, and in-
    depth special investigations of existing state and school system 
    records on bus crashes involving fatalities/injuries and specific 
    crashes in which occupants wore lap belts. The agency will conduct a 
    detailed review of crash data to upgrade existing data to better define 
    crashes that produce injury to occupants. The answers to the following 
    items will be of help to the agency in determining its future course of 
    action with respect to school buses.
    
        1. While the agency believes that it is aware of most of the 
    research that evaluates the occupant protection in school buses, the 
    agency is interested in research reports that documents the testing 
    of safety devices or systems in modern school buses.
        2. The agency is interested in investigating crashes that have 
    occurred in large school buses, particularly those crashes that have 
    resulted in injuries, and is asking for assistance in locating 
    detailed information on these school bus crashes.
        3. The agency is also interested in investigating crashes that 
    have occurred in large and small school buses equipped with lap 
    belts and is asking for assistance in locating detailed information 
    on these school bus crashes.
    
        Phase II: Test Procedure Development will consist of developing 
    test conditions that best simulate the types of school bus crashes that 
    lead to serious injuries, as identified through Phase I research. Crash 
    ``pulses'' will be developed by conducting full scale school bus crash 
    testing at various impact angles. Using the derived crash pulses, a 
    sled test procedure (crash simulation) will be developed and validated. 
    If necessary, new occupant protection countermeasures will be designed 
    and developed, either by modifying existing systems and components, or 
    developing new systems. Preliminary tests to verify the systems will be 
    conducted prior to final sled testing. A sled test matrix to evaluate 
    the new or altered occupant protection systems will be developed.
        In order to ensure that any safety enhancements/devices tested 
    provide protection to the whole range of sizes of people that school 
    buses transport, the agency is planning to use available anthropometric 
    test dummies (ATDs) that represent the six-year-old child, the 5th 
    percentile female and the 50th percentile male.
        Safety improvements currently under consideration for testing are 
    lap belts, lap/torso belts, lap bars, bus side wall padding and 
    armrests.
    
        4. Since lap belts have been required in small school buses for 
    some time now, the
    
    [[Page 57091]]
    
    agency is also interested in obtaining information on whether there 
    have been any lap belt-caused injuries to occupants of small school 
    buses.
        5. The agency is concerned that widening of a school bus seat to 
    allow for the placement of armrests will require that the school bus 
    body be made wider in order to maintain the same capacity. Should 
    this be a serious concern, it is important for the agency to know 
    the extent to which the widening of the school bus seat would cause 
    the capacity to be reduced or the widening of school bus body would 
    cause maneuverability problems.
    
        The agency is also interested in obtaining information on other 
    devices/systems that may improve occupant protection in school bus 
    crashes. Please note, NHTSA does not have legal authority to provide 
    appropriated funds for the private development of commercial products. 
    Suggestions should be accompanied by a statement of the rationale for 
    the suggested device/system and the expected consequences that such 
    devices/systems will have on school bus transportation. Suggestions 
    should address at least the following considerations:
        Administrative/compliance burdens,
        Cost effectiveness,
        Costs of the existing regulation and the proposed changes to 
    consumers,
        Costs of testing or certification to regulated parties,
        Effects on safety,
        Effects on small businesses,
        Enforceability of the standard, and
        Whether the suggestion reflects a ``common sense'' approach to 
    solving the problem
        Statements should be as specific as possible and provide the best 
    available supporting information. Statements also should specify 
    whether any change recommended in the regulatory process would require 
    a legislative change in NHTSA's authority.
        Phase III: Testing and Validation will consist of testing the 
    various occupant protection safety systems developed or identified. The 
    types of tests to be conducted will be both static and dynamic. Test 
    results will be analyzed and a final report published.
        In order to provide for a more controlled environment the agency is 
    planning to evaluate each device/system by conducting crash simulations 
    (sled tests).
    
    Submission of Comments
    
        NHTSA invites written comments from all interested parties. It is 
    requested but not required that 10 copies be submitted.
        If a commenter wishes to submit certain information under a claim 
    of confidentiality, three copies of the complete submission, including 
    purportedly confidential business information, should be submitted to 
    the Chief Counsel, NHTSA, Room 5219, at the street address given above, 
    and copies from which the purportedly confidential information has been 
    deleted should be submitted to the Docket Section. A request for 
    confidentiality should be accompanied by a cover letter setting forth 
    the information specified in the agency's confidential business 
    information regulation (49 CFR part 512.)
        All comments received before the close of business on the comment 
    closing date indicated above will be considered. Comments will be 
    available for inspection in the docket.
        After the closing date, NHTSA will continue to file relevant 
    information in the docket as it becomes available. It is therefore 
    recommended that interested persons continue to examine the docket for 
    new material.
    
        Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115, 30117, and 30166; 
    delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50.
    
        Issued: October 20, 1998.
    L. Robert Shelton,
    Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
    [FR Doc. 98-28569 Filed 10-23-98; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
    
    
    

Document Information

Published:
10/26/1998
Department:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Entry Type:
Proposed Rule
Action:
Request for comments.
Document Number:
98-28569
Dates:
Comments must be received by December 28, 1998.
Pages:
57089-57091 (3 pages)
Docket Numbers:
Docket Number NHTSA-98-4573
PDF File:
98-28569.pdf
CFR: (1)
49 CFR 571