Denial of Petition for Rulemaking; Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards

Résumé

This document denies Thomas Built Buses, Inc., petition to change the head protection zone requirements in FMVSS No. 222. Thomas stated in the petition that it felt that the head protection zones referenced in S5.3.1.1 were defined by NHTSA with a square school bus body in mind. Thomas requested that S5.3.1.1(c) be changed to allow for differences in design. NHTSA is denying this petition. Thomas offered no justification for changing the standard other than that they perceived that the standard was developed with a square school bus body in mind. The history of FMVSS No. 222 clearly indicates that the head protection zones were established with the bus occupant's head in mind and not the bus body as Thomas believes. In fact the statement in S5.3.1.1 that ``The head protection zones in front of each school bus seat which are not occupied by the bus sidewall, window, or door structure * * *'' indicates that the standard specifically considered the possibility of non-square bus bodies. Changing the standard, as proposed in the Thomas petition, would allow manufacturers to install unpadded objects in locations where the bus occupant's head is likely to come in contact with them in a fr